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China was a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, NATO leaders said on Wednesday. The defense alliance thus toughened its stance against Beijing and the “systemic challenges” that they believe the country poses to the security of their countries.
The joint statement is NATO’s strongest tone yet on China’s role in a war that is electrifying the 75-year-old bloc, which celebrated its anniversary this week at a three-day summit of leaders in Washington hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.
China’s borderless partnership with Russia and its “large-scale support of the Russian defense industry” enabled Moscow to wage its war, the NATO leaders’ statement said. They called on Beijing to “cease all material and political support for the Russian war effort.”
In recent months, US and European leaders have accused China of strengthening Russia’s arms sector by exporting dual-use goods. Beijing denies supplying weapons and stresses that it maintains strict controls on such goods.
NATO leaders also addressed concerns about China’s growing capabilities and activities in space in more detail than in the past, reiterating previously expressed unease about what they saw as Beijing’s “malicious cyber and hybrid activities,” which included disinformation and its “rapidly” growing nuclear arsenal.
“We remain open to constructive cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, including building mutual transparency with a view to safeguarding the Alliance’s security interests,” said the statement, which referred to China by the initials of its official name.
“At the same time, we are strengthening our collective awareness, increasing our resilience and preparedness, and protecting ourselves from the PRC’s coercive tactics and efforts to divide the Alliance.”
Wednesday’s statement by NATO leaders came as the 32-member alliance – which has traditionally focused on security in North America and Europe – has increased its engagement with U.S. allies in Asia in recent years and sees its security increasingly linked to the region, even as its member countries pursue different policies toward China.
For the third year in a row, the leaders of New Zealand, Japan and South Korea attended the NATO summit, another sign of the closer ties between the bloc and these countries, as well as Australia.
Sergei Bobylov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin on a state visit to China on May 16, 2024.
The closer relations between China and Russia
Beijing has deepened its political, economic and military ties with Moscow since President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared a “borderless” partnership – and their shared opposition to what they see as NATO expansion – during the Russian president’s visit to the Chinese capital in February 2022, just weeks before his large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
China has overtaken the European Union to become Russia’s most important trading partner, making it a vital pillar of the Russian economy. Russia has been forced to impose severe sanctions in the wake of the invasion, while the two nuclear-armed neighbors continue to conduct joint military exercises.
Meanwhile, China is asserting its neutrality in the war and trying to position itself as a potential peace broker, while American and European politicians are increasingly concerned about what they see as Beijing’s support for Moscow through economic and diplomatic aid, as well as the supply of dual-use goods.
China on Thursday criticized the NATO statement as “full of Cold War mentality and aggressive rhetoric” and called it “provocative and full of obvious lies and slander.”
“China is not the cause of the Ukraine crisis. China’s attitude towards Ukraine is open and honest. We want to promote peace talks and seek a political solution,” said a statement by the Chinese mission to the European Union.
The Chinese statement also reiterated Beijing’s position that it has never supplied lethal weapons to the conflict and that it has strict export controls on dual-use goods. Trade with Russia was defended as “normal.”
US and European leaders have raised the alarm in recent months that such exports are revitalizing Russia’s defense sector and allowing it to survive despite heavy international sanctions. The US has said that dual-use exports have enabled the production of tanks, ammunition and armored vehicles in particular.
Both the US and the EU have imposed sanctions on Chinese companies that they believe are supporting the war effort.
The statement by NATO leaders is the latest step in a phase of gradual hardening of NATO’s tone towards China in recent years.
NATO heads of state and government first mentioned the need to jointly address the “opportunities and challenges” posed by China in a 2019 statement, before moving on to address the “systemic challenges” posed by the country in 2021.
This shift comes as US policy becomes more focused on the Indo-Pacific amid a deepening rivalry with Beijing as China, under Xi’s leadership, becomes increasingly aggressive in the region and in its foreign policy overall.
NATO’s attention to Asia has also increased over the past two and a half years as geopolitical fault lines have hardened following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin’s relations have become closer not only to China but also to North Korea and Iran.
NATO leaders also said on Wednesday that Pyongyang and Tehran were “fueling” Russia’s war through “direct military support” and condemned North Korea’s export of “artillery shells and ballistic missiles” to Russia. Several governments say they have been tracking these exports since last year, when Putin hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Russian Far East.
“The Indo-Pacific is important for NATO because developments in this region have a direct impact on Euro-Atlantic security,” the leaders said in their statement.
“We are strengthening dialogue to address cross-regional challenges and expanding our practical cooperation, including through flagship projects in the areas of support to Ukraine, cyber defence, countering disinformation and technology,” it said.
Beijing is watching with suspicion as NATO’s engagement with other powers in the Asia-Pacific increases. Observers believe China hopes to become the dominant force in the region and push back the US presence there, while Washington strengthens its long-standing security partnerships and interests in the Indo-Pacific.
China and Russia have also agreed on their common opposition to NATO, part of both countries’ overarching goal of reshaping a world order they see as unfairly dominated by the United States. Both countries accuse the Western security alliance of provoking Moscow into invading Ukraine.
In its statement on Thursday, Beijing’s EU mission called on NATO to “correct its misperception of China” and “abandon the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game”.
“The Asia-Pacific region is a place of peaceful development and not a venue for geopolitical competition. … NATO should not become a disruptor of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” the statement said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
