China accused NATO of continuing to “spread its evil hooks” into the Asia-Pacific region (Beijing refuses to use the term “Indo-Pacific,” now acceptable to the wider world, sans Russia). The Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang explained how NATO has caused conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Ukraine.
Chinese perception of NATO’s rhetoric as full of “lies, prejudice, incitement, and slander” is understandable in the wake of the adoption of the final communiqué on July 10 at the NATO summit held in Washington. The communiqué identified Beijing as a “decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine” and posed “systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security.”
Will NATO countries change their opinion on China if Beijing, for example, stops supporting Russia in the Ukraine war? It is highly unlikely.
If the NATO communiqué is any indication, China will continue to be a challenge, something that does not necessarily have a linkage with Ukraine. The communiqué has many other complaints. One just has to see its language.
“The PRC continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security. We have seen sustained malicious cyber and hybrid activities, including disinformation, stemming from the PRC. We call on the PRC to uphold its commitment to act responsibly in cyberspace. We are concerned by developments in the PRC’s space capabilities and activities. We call on the PRC to support international efforts to promote responsible space behavior. The PRC continues to rapidly expand and diversify its nuclear arsenal with more warheads and a larger number of sophisticated delivery systems. We urge the PRC to engage in strategic risk reduction discussions and promote stability through transparency. We remain open to constructive engagement with the PRC, including building reciprocal transparency with the view of safeguarding the Alliance’s security interests. At the same time, we are boosting our shared awareness, enhancing our resilience and preparedness, and protecting against the PRC’s coercive tactics and efforts to divide the Alliance”.
Even otherwise, if one scans through other NATO releases in recent times, it is clear that the alliance is strengthening dialogue and cooperation with its partners in the Indo-Pacific region, known as “IP-4” – Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand.
