LONDON—The Group of Seven western democracies aims to court new allies to counter challenges from China and Russia without holding Beijing down and while pursuing more stable ties with the Kremlin, two of its top diplomats said on Monday. Founded in 1975 as a forum for the West’s richest nations to discuss crises such as the OPEC oil embargo, the G7 this week is discussing China and Russia as well as battling the COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of climate change. “It is not our purpose to try to contain China or to hold China down,” Blinken told reporters at a news conference alongside British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. He said the West would defend “the international rules based order” from subversive attempts by any country, including China. The diplomats were keen to let the world know the West will assert itself. Raab spoke of building alliances rather than severing …