Strengthening China and its rapprochement with Russia pose a threat to the North Atlantic Alliance and confirm the need for the bloc to respond to the challenges it faces, said Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Lisbon.

“Soon, China's economy will be the largest in the world.

The country is leading in many areas of advanced and disruptive technologies, investing heavily in the development of nuclear capabilities, cooperating more and more with Russia - with all that said, NATO cannot ignore the impact of the rise of China on security, "Stoltenberg explained.

According to him, the strengthening of the positions of Moscow and Beijing confirms that the need for transatlantic unity is now higher than at any time since the end of the Cold War, since no country can alone overcome the challenges faced by NATO.

“Russia bears responsibility for aggressive actions against its neighbors, active build-up of military forces from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean and attempts to interfere in our democratic processes.

China is actively using its power to influence other countries and control its own people.

At the same time, China is getting closer to us in Africa, in the Arctic and in cyberspace, as well as investing in our critical infrastructure: both in the fifth generation networks and in sea and air ports, ”said Stoltenberg.

He noted that NATO as a regional alliance is not going to accept countries from Asia, Africa or Latin America into its ranks.

However, the organization's secretary general assured that the bloc faces global threats, one of which is the strengthening of China.

“Of course, the rise of China matters to our security.

It cannot be denied.

We see how China is trying to control critical infrastructure, we see them in cyberspace, we see them in Africa, and of course (worth mentioning. - 

RT

) the issue of freedom of navigation, "Stoltenberg said.

The Russian-Chinese problem

Recently, the NATO Secretary General has repeatedly argued that the actions of Russia and China are "challenges" for the alliance.

So, in March 2021, Stoltenberg took part in an event at which an annual report on the bloc's activities for 2020 was presented, where he noted the "decisive" behavior of Moscow and the strengthening of Beijing as challenges for NATO.

“These challenges are critical for NATO and the future of the alliance.

And therefore, it is very important that NATO continue to adapt and respond to the increasingly difficult security situation caused by both the rise of China and the more active actions of Russia, ”Stoltenberg said at the time.

  • NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

  • Reuters

  • © Virginia Mayo

In June, before the summit of the leaders of the bloc countries, he said that the participants in the meeting would agree on a common position on China.

Stoltenberg accused Beijing of China not sharing Euro-Atlantic values, oppressing minorities and using modern technology to spy on citizens.    

The Alliance Secretary General said that no country can cope with this alone, so NATO countries must "react together."

At the same time, Stoltenberg added that the alliance does not intend to start a cold war against the PRC and is ready to cooperate with China on issues of mutual interest, including arms control.

Beijing has consistently criticized this position of the alliance, describing it as a return to Cold War thinking.

So, in February this was stated by the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, after another statement by Stoltenberg about the need to respond to the strengthening of the PRC.

In September, Beijing protested over the hype about the "China nuclear threat."

This was stated by the official representative of the PRC Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin in response to Stoltenberg's words that China is actively building up its nuclear arsenal.

“China is strongly protesting and expressing its concern over NATO's hype about the Chinese nuclear threat.

China pursues a defensive strategy in this area and maintains its nuclear arsenal at the minimum necessary level, ”TASS quoted the diplomat as saying.

A spokesman for the PRC Foreign Ministry said that his country would not under any circumstances be the first to use nuclear weapons and would not use such weapons against states that do not possess their own strategic weapons.

“If NATO is truly concerned about arms control, then the alliance should abandon Cold War thinking and roll back its current policies,” Wang Wenbin said.

In June 2021, the special representative of the PRC government for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, emphasized that China and Russia are in defense of an order based on the principles of international law.

“I am confident that the PRC and Russia will continue to set an example of good-neighborly and friendly relations between major powers, acting as the pivot of global stability,” he said.

Demand crisis

Experts interviewed by RT believe that Stoltenberg, with his anti-Chinese rhetoric, wants to demonstrate the usefulness of the alliance to Washington.

Analysts drew attention to the fact that the NATO Secretary General, speaking at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly immediately after the speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, said: "It is obvious for Europe that we must stick together with North America."

“Perhaps Nancy Pelosi and other US officials can tell you that in fact there is a growing US support for NATO.

There is very strong support from both parties, in my opinion, not least due to the fact that they understand that with the rise of China and the growth of competition in the world, it is very good to have friends.

The United States has 29 NATO friends and allies, which no other major power can boast of, ”the Alliance Secretary General said.

  • Gettyimages.ru

  • © Rolf Bruderer

This statement by Stoltenberg is a signal that NATO will continue to follow the course that the United States is pursuing, Sergei Sudakov, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Military Sciences, emphasized in a conversation with RT.

“It was a certain curtsey towards the United States to show the continuity of the course.

And most importantly, Mr. Stoltenberg said exactly what the White House administration wanted to hear.

He was a little cunning, perhaps, but it was clear why he was saying this and who these words were aimed at.

This is a keynote speech in order to declare that the NATO bloc is completely dependent on the United States, ”the expert noted.

At the same time, according to him, China is now the most "relevant" adversary for the United States.

“Therefore, NATO will now reorient the image of the collective enemy that they have created for many years.

After all, all this time the NATO bloc was focused only on the terrible future "aggression" of Russia.

And only now comes the understanding that China is a very serious economic player that has learned to defend itself, ”the expert emphasized.

In turn, political scientist Alexander Asafov expressed the opinion that Stoltenberg is fulfilling the task of the United States and is trying to "sell" the NATO countries a "double threat" in the form of the RF and the PRC that are drawing closer to each other.

“In this case, the task of the United States is to“ sell ”this threat to the alliance countries and destroy China's economic ties with the EU countries.

For this, the mythical threat of the terrible China along with Russia is being created.

This is the process of containing China as one of the main goals of NATO's existence, "the interlocutor of RT emphasized.

“Weapons must be purchased against some kind of enemy.

And if everything is already clear with Russia, then the image of China as an enemy for Europe

requires consolidation not only through the mouth of American officials, but also by officials from NATO.

Here is Stoltenberg and says that their new enemy is China and they need to strengthen themselves against it in order to contain it in a single impulse, ”the expert explained.

According to Asafov, Stoltenberg's direct appeal to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives indicates that this course has been "launched" from Washington.

“This is actually a statement of the vassal oath.

This is the consolidation of the ideas of the United States, not European ones.

European countries, at least some of them, would calmly cooperate with China, as they previously cooperated with Iran.

But in this case, they cannot contradict either the Americans or the NATO bosses, ”the expert concluded.