NATO leaders have declared China a constant security challenge and said the Chinese are working to undermine global order, a message in sync with President Joe Biden’s efforts to get allies to speak out with a more unified voice against China’s trade, military and human rights practices.
In a summit statement, the leaders said that China’s goals and “assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security.”
While the 30 heads of state and government avoided calling China a rival, they expressed concern about what they said were its “coercive policies,” the opaque ways it is modernizing its armed forces and its use of disinformation.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an alliance of European and North American countries formed after World War II as a bulwark against Russian aggression.
The new Brussels communique states plainly that the NATO nations “will engage China with a view to defending the security interests of the alliance."
But as Biden faced with the G-7 communique, some allies bristled at the NATO effort to speak out on China.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said NATO’s decision to name China as a threat “shouldn’t be overstated” because Beijing, like Russia, is also a partner in some areas. China is Germany's top trading partner and is heavily dependent on Russia in fulfilling the country's energy needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment