WASHINGTON (AP) — NATO allies on Wednesday called China a “crucial supporter” in their toughest rebuke of Beijing. Russia’s war against Ukraine He expressed concern about Beijing’s nuclear weapons and space capabilities.
The strongly worded final statement, approved by 32 member states, NATO member states hold summit Washington’s statement makes it clear that China is becoming a focal point of the military alliance, which includes European and North American members. Indo-Pacific Partners We see growing common security concerns emerging from Russia and its Asian backers, particularly China.
Beijing claims it does not provide military aid to Russia. Strong trade ties India accuses NATO of cooperating closely with its northern neighbor throughout the conflict and accuses it of over-interference and stoking conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.
NATO member states said in a statement that China “Unlimited Partnership” with Russia and massive support for Russia’s defense industrial base.
“This increases the threat Russia poses to its neighbors and to Euro-Atlantic security. As permanent members of the UN Security Council with a special responsibility to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, we call on China to cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort,” said the statement, which referred to China by an abbreviation of its official name, the People’s Republic of China.
“China cannot afford to launch the largest European war in recent history without adversely affecting its interests and reputation,” the document states.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said China was providing Russia with equipment, microelectronics and tools that would “enable it to produce missiles, bombs, aircraft and weapons that could be used to attack Ukraine.”
He said this was the first time that all NATO member states had made this so clear in an agreement document.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said on Wednesday that China is neither the initiator nor a party to the Ukraine crisis. “China has not supplied weapons to any parties to the conflict and strictly controls the export of dual-use items, which has been widely praised by the international community,” embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said.
He said normal trade between China and Russia is “fairly conducted” and “beyond reproach.”
Danny Russell, a former assistant secretary of state for Asia, said NATO’s new language was an “unprecedented step”, especially because it came together with warnings that Beijing continued to pose “systemic challenges” to European interests and security.
“This shows how Beijing’s attempts to straddle Russia and the West have failed and how hollow its claims of neutrality are,” said Russell, vice president for international security and foreign affairs at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “China’s attempts to divide and rule have instead produced surprising solidarity between key players in the Euro-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific regions.”
Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the statement was “very significant” as it sent a message to China that Europe joins the United States in condemning its support for Russia.
“The US is convinced that Europe has influence in Beijing and believes that while China won’t listen to US criticism, it will listen to European criticism because China trades with Europe just as Europe trades with China,” Bergman said.
In their final declaration this year, NATO allies reiterated their concern that China poses “systemic challenges” to Euro-Atlantic security – an issue first raised in 2021.
The alliance expressed concern about China’s space capabilities and activities, citing ongoing malicious cyber and hybrid activities, including disinformation, and warned that China is rapidly expanding and diversifying its nuclear arsenal by increasing the number of nuclear warheads and developing more advanced delivery vehicles.
Chinese embassy spokesman Liu said China was handling such issues “with transparent policies and a responsible attitude”.
“It is totally useless to stoke the so-called ‘China threat,'” Liu said, adding that Beijing firmly opposes NATO using regional hotspot issues to smear China and foment a new Cold War.
As NATO leaders gather in Washington this week to mark the 75th anniversary of the alliance’s founding, President Joe Biden He said the alliance must not fall behind Russia, which is ramping up its weapons production with the help of China, North Korea and Iran.
Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea are sending leaders and deputy leaders to the NATO summit in Washington this week. These countries are partners, not members, of NATO.
The final declaration said NATO allies affirmed the importance of Indo-Pacific countries to the alliance and were “strengthening their dialogue to address regional challenges.”
NATO and Indo-Pacific nations will launch four projects to support Ukraine, strengthen cyber defense cooperation, counter disinformation and research artificial intelligence. NATO allies said the projects will “enhance our ability to cooperate on shared security interests.”
