China Blames NATO After Summit: “Cold War Mentality”
Beijing: “NATO is a defensive organization and should know its place”
China is protesting NATO’s latest statement that the Chinese government is “resolutely” helping Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. China’s diplomatic mission to the European Union said NATO was using “provocative rhetoric full of lies and slander inspired by the Cold War mentality.” Beijing suggested that the Atlantic Alliance “should not become an instrument of hegemony of some big states, know its place, respecting the status of a defensive organization, and not endanger world peace and stability.”
The verbal skirmish between China and NATO was sparked by a series of assertions in a joint statement by alliance leaders that China poses a “systemic challenge” to Euro-Atlantic security. “We have witnessed several malicious cyber activities by China, including disinformation campaigns,” the statement said, in which the leaders express concern about “the development of China’s space and nuclear arsenal.”
In addition, NATO leaders emphasized that “China’s ambitions and coercive policies represent a challenge to the interests, security, and values of the Atlantic Alliance.” Finally, Western leaders recognized the growing cooperation between China and Russia in “trying to change the international order.”
The two countries are working closely together in various international organizations, from the G20 to BRICS to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to create a more just, democratic, multipolar world order that is no longer dominated by the hegemony of the United States.
