China is a “decisive enabler” of the Russian war in Ukraine, NATO sharply criticises | NATO

NATO leaders described China as a “key enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine and expressed “deep concern” over the country’s deepening ties with Moscow, the alliance’s most serious accusation against Beijing.

The final communiqué adopted by the 32 NATO members at the summit in Washington also highlights concerns about Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space.

“I think the message that NATO has sent from this summit is very strong and very clear, and we clearly define China’s responsibility in enabling Russia’s war,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, calling the statement an important message.

NATO leaders called on China to “cease all material and political support for the Russian war effort,” adding that Beijing has now become a massive supporter of Russia’s “arms industry.”

“This includes the transfer of dual-use materials, such as weapons components, equipment and raw materials that serve as inputs to the Russian defense sector,” the statement said.

Beijing stresses that it does not provide direct military assistance to Russia, but has maintained close trade relations with its neighbor throughout the conflict.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed its displeasure at NATO’s growing interest in Asia and called on the alliance to stay out of the Asia-Pacific region and not provoke confrontation. Beijing’s delegation to the EU said the summit was “marked by a Cold War mentality and aggressive rhetoric”.

“The paragraphs on China are provocative and contain obvious lies and slander,” the mission said in a statement.

The NATO statement came as leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea were due to attend summit talks on Thursday. It is the third consecutive year that leaders of the four Asia-Pacific partners have met for the summit.

The final communiqué also accused China of being behind persistent, malicious cyber and hybrid activities, including disinformation. It also raised alarm that China is rapidly expanding and diversifying its nuclear arsenal by deploying more warheads and a greater number of sophisticated delivery systems.

Danny Russell, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Asia, called NATO’s new wording “an extraordinary step.”

“It is a sign of how badly Beijing’s attempt to bridge Russia and Western Europe has failed and how hollow its claim to neutrality rings,” said Russel, vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “China’s attempts to divide and rule have instead produced remarkable solidarity among the major nations of the Euro-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific regions.”

This week, Chinese troops conducted joint military exercises in Belarus, which neighboring Poland says it is closely following. China and Belarus are allies of Russia, while Poland is a NATO member and supports Kyiv.

“The Ministry of Defense is aware of the risk that the operations in question could be used for disinformation and propaganda purposes,” the Polish Defense Ministry told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday.

China has held joint exercises with Belarus before, but these were the first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The “Falcon Assault” exercises began on Monday and are scheduled to last until mid-July. The Chinese Defense Ministry said it hoped to deepen cooperation with Minsk.

Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report