China has issued a strong rebuke to NATO, calling what it called “cold war thinking and ideological bias” after the Western military bloc said Beijing posed “serious challenges” to global stability.
NATO allies agreed for the first time to include the challenges and threats posed by China in a strategy plan at its last summit in Madrid this week. The previous document of the alliance, published in 2010, made no mention of China.
In its new strategic concept, NATO said it would address “the systemic challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China for Euro-Atlantic security” and the “deepening of the strategic partnership” between China and Russia. among its top priorities.
Beijing was furious at NATO’s decision. “Who questions global security and undermines world peace? Are there wars or conflicts over the years in which NATO is not involved? China’s mission to the EU said in a statement on Thursday.
“NATO’s so-called strategic concept, full of Cold War thinking and ideological bias, is maliciously attacking and defaming China. We strongly oppose it,” the statement said. “When it comes to acts that undermine China’s interests, we will make firm and forceful responses.”
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China has been pointing the finger at the US and NATO on several occasions. But NATO’s attention to the China-Russia partnership began even before Moscow’s military operations on its neighbor. He has also been talking openly about China for some time.
At its annual summit in Brussels last June, the traditionally Russia-centered military alliance stated, for the first time, that it had to respond to Beijing’s growing power. The language used by the blog at the time also echoed the EU’s phrase “systemic rival” and the UK’s “systemic competitor” when describing China.
Beijing’s response was just as forceful. Responding to a statement by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on China-Russia military ties last year during the Brussels summit, a Foreign Ministry spokesman urged the alliance to “abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias,” a language similar to the deployed. this week.
This week, NATO wanted to add a layer of nuance to its descriptions of Russia and China. “China is not our adversary, but we need to have a clear view of the serious challenges it poses,” Stoltenberg said Wednesday, adding that NATO was still “open to a constructive compromise” with Beijing.
The language contrasted with Vladimir Putin’s NATO view of Russia. “The Russian Federation is the most significant and direct threat to Allied security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area,” wrote the NATO Strategic Concept, which promises to “continue to respond to Russian threats and hostile actions in a united and responsible way. ” way ”.
However, the alliance clearly distrusted Beijing’s close ties with Moscow. “The deepening of the strategic partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation and their attempts to mutually strengthen to undermine the rules-based international order go against our values and interests,” he said. project.
It is not immediately clear what China’s discourse in China’s latest strategy operationally means to NATO. “We know that there will be greater collaboration with the EU in areas of Chinese policy in which the EU has more experience, such as resilience and economic coercion,” said Meia Nouwens of the International Institute. of Strategic Studies (IISS, thinktank) based in London.
He added: “The concept mentioned that the Alliance will work with existing and new partners in the Indo-Pacific. But we don’t know what new partners NATO is looking for, maybe some Southeast Asian countries or India.”
Some experts have urged NATO to establish a “China Council” to coordinate NATO’s policies on China, but this week there has been no talk in Madrid. And in recent days, reports have surfaced that France and Germany had opposed describing China as a “threat,” as it could jeopardize Europe’s interests in trade and technology.
“It is interesting that after three years of talks on China and agreement on the challenges it poses for the alliance, the Allies still do not fully agree on how to frame this discussion and how to respond,” Nouwens said. .