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NATO accused China of enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine and urged it to cease support.
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It claimed that China supplied weapons components to Russia, circumventing Western sanctions.
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China said NATO had a “Cold War mentality” and “belligerent rhetoric.”
NATO on Wednesday accused China of being “a decisive facilitator of Russia’s war against Ukraine” and demanded that it stop helping Moscow’s military or face the consequences.
In the alliance Washington Summit DeclarationPublished before a White House dinner with its leader, it called on China “to cease all material and political support for Russia’s war effort.”
The statement, the first of its kind, said China was an important supplier of weapons components and defense equipment to Russia since the start of the war.
It included an implied threat. “The PRC cannot allow the largest war in Europe in recent history without this having a negative impact on its interests and reputation,” the statement said.
Natalie Sabanadze, senior research fellow at Chatham House in London, said The New York Times she hoped that European countries would “start sanctioning Chinese companies slowly, while carefully assessing the consequences and possible backlash.”
She added that the NATO warning “tells China there will be costs.”
The strongest reprimand yet
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general, described the language as the “strongest message NATO allies have ever sent about China’s contributions to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine.”
NATO and the US believe China supplied Russia with equipment such as chips and integrated circuits, which can be used to produce weapons. In response, China said it is not a party to the Ukraine war and there should be no interference in trade between China and Russia.
China responded to the latest accusations, describing them as “prejudice, defamation and provocation”. He added that NATO had a “Cold War mentality” and “belligerent rhetoric.”
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jin said that “NATO has extolled China’s responsibility” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters.
“It makes no sense and comes with malicious intent,” Lin said.
“We call on NATO to reflect on the root cause of the crisis and what it has done, and take concrete steps to calm the escalation, rather than shifting blame.”
A change in NATO’s position
The statement marks a fundamental change in NATO’s stance toward China. As The New York Times reported, the alliance has used mild language when discussing issues or concerns surrounding China in the past. He first named the country as a concern in 2019.
European countries have historically been hesitant to oppose Beijing, known for its distribution of luxury goods and automobiles, The Times reported.
But the language surrounding China has subtly evolved.
Last week, NATO member and President of Finland Alexander Stubb said in an interview with Bloomberg that China has so much influence over Russia that it could effectively end the war.
“I argue that Russia is so dependent on China right now that a phone call from President Xi Jinping would resolve this crisis,” Stubb said. “If he said, ‘It’s time to start negotiating peace.’ Russia would be forced to do this.”
“They would have no other choice,” he added.
Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, said NATO’s statement shows that its members “now collectively understand this challenge,” according to The Times.
“If this support for the PRC continues, it will degrade its relations across Europe, and the United States will continue to impose sanctions on PRC entities involved in this activity, in coordination with our European allies,” he added.
Meanwhile, NATO has committed to continuing to provide long-term security to Ukraine.
According to the statement, NATO members have collectively contributed 40 billion euros, or about $43.4 billion, in military aid to Ukraine every year since the start of the war in February 2022. The alliance stated that it intends to contribute the same amount in 2024.
Read the original article at Business Insider
