China: Beijing reacts strongly to NATO statements
China has the largest army in the world in terms of manpower, with 2 million men in service.
(Illustrative image) REUTERS / Stringer
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3 min
Joe Biden made sure of NATO's support before his confrontation with Vladimir Putin.
The American president took advantage of his participation in the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to call on the Russian president to stop his provocations against the United States and its allies.
Warning addressed also, this time, collectively to China.
In its final declaration, NATO considers that the second largest economy in the world presents “
challenges
” of a “
systemic
” nature.
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With our correspondent in Beijing,
Stéphane Lagarde
First appeared two years ago, on March 12, 2019, in a document from the European Commission, the term "
systemic rival
" taken up by NATO is not a surprise to Beijing, which immediately deployed the elements. language used repeatedly by its diplomats. First, that of "
China's peaceful development
" associated with the "
right to defend oneself
": "
We will not pose a" systemic challenge "to anyone, but if we are asked" systemic challenges ", we will not remain indifferent
" , threatens the Chinese mission to the European Union in remarks repeated, this Tuesday, June 15, by the state information site
Pangpai
, recalling in passing "
the historic tragedy of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia
”by NATO in 1999.
A supposed "
cold war mentality
"
Another argument is that of a supposed “
cold war mentality
” among some officials in Washington and in Europe. The editorial of the
Global Times
thus denounces a "
conspiracy of the United States
" aimed at strengthening "
anti-Chinese tendencies in the West
", while suggesting, drawing in support, that Europeans are disunited on the issue. The cartoon published by the branch of
the People's Daily
shows, in fact, an American “Uncle Sam” engaged in a standoff with the Chinese panda, with Europeans behind him looking elsewhere, even whistling another song perhaps in related to recent statements by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
► To read also:
NATO concerned about the challenges posed by China and Russia
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China
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Xi Jinping
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