"HONG KONG -- China warned the U.S. and its allies not to "provoke confrontation" after NATO took the unusual step of explicitly identifying Beijing as a threat to its interests.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization described China as an enabler of events in Ukraine, and expressed concern about the expansion of China's nuclear arsenal. In a staunchly worded statement issued Wednesday at its annual summit in Washington, it also accused Beijing of acting irresponsibly in both cyberspace and outer space.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian hit back Thursday with similar vigor at a regular news briefing in Beijing, describing NATO's statement as "full of prejudice, smears and provocations."
Lin said NATO is threatening China's interests by extending its reach into Asia. He said the alliance should "avoid messing up Asia the way it messed up Europe."
The decision by NATO leaders to dispense with diplomatic restraint concerning China reflects heightened geopolitical tensions as conflict with Russia drags on through its third year, and as Beijing and Moscow push for an alternative to the U.S.-led global order.
NATO generally has avoided criticizing China, which fields one of the world's most powerful militaries. The country didn't appear in the alliance's main guiding document, known as the Strategic Concept, until 2022, when Beijing was first openly identified as a challenge to NATO interests.
Since then, China's posture on Ukraine, its military buildup and its alleged involvement in cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns inside NATO's borders have raised the level of concern in the West.
In its statement, NATO called on China to cease all support for Russia's effort, including the provision of so-called dual-use goods that have both civilian and military uses.
China's mission to the European Union criticized NATO's depiction of China as a "decisive enabler" of the conflict in Ukraine. "China has never provided lethal weapons to either party of the conflict and has exercised strict export control on dual-use goods, including civilian drones," the mission said.
Earlier in the week, Beijing said it would continue to promote peace talks and play a constructive role in pushing for a political settlement to the conflict in Ukraine.
NATO's warning went viral on China's heavily controlled social-media platforms, where it attracted a flood of nationalistic commentary as it rose to No. 1 on the list of hot topics on the popular site Weibo. Some said the statement signaled that China is NATO's next target.
"They are wrapping up the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and can now spare a free hand to target us," wrote one Weibo user in a comment that garnered more than a thousand likes." [1]
This is one of the biggest Biden's mistakes - to inflame a conflict with both China and Russia at the same time.
1. World News: Beijing Says Rare Alliance Rebuke Is 'Full of Prejudice'. Fan, Wenxin. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 12 July 2024: A.8.
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