NATO chief wrong to view China as threat

Staff members work at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg portrayed China as a threat to the NATO countries last week when appealing for continued US support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

A victorious Russia would "be bad for all of us in Europe and North America, in the whole of NATO, because that will send a message to authoritarian leaders — not only Putin but also China — that by the use of brutal military force they can achieve their goals," he said in an interview with POLITICO. "The presence of the United States — but also Canada — in Europe, is essential for the strength and the credibility of that transatlantic bond," he added.

Stoltenberg might have good reasons for his worries about decreasing US support. The upcoming US midterm elections could possibly see the Republicans, who have promised to slash support for Ukraine, take control of Congress, thus leading to the US cutting back its military aid to Ukraine.

Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, the US has pledged to give Ukraine more than $17 billion in assistance, well above what the European countries have collectively committed. Yet support among ordinary Americans for such vast sums of assistance to Ukraine is reportedly decreasing.

Given that China is committed to an independent foreign policy of peace, and it has consistently urged a negotiated end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it is rather despicable for the NATO chief to try to use China as a means to hype up the value of the transatlantic alliance.

China's position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been impartial and consistent. It advocates that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, be respected and the legitimate security concerns of all countries be taken seriously. It also supports all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis.

Yet despite this, the NATO chief is depicting China as a major security challenge for the military bloc. But in citing what he claims is China's "coercive behavior" in the South China Sea and against its neighbors, he has simply revealed his own ambitions for expanding the remit of the security organization.

The confrontational stance that Stoltenberg has taken against China appeals to the anti-China sentiment that now runs deep in Washington. The Pentagon said in an unclassified version of the National Defense Strategy last week that China "presents the most consequential and systemic challenge, while Russia poses acute threats".

The rhetoric of Stoltenberg and the Pentagon bode ill for world peace and stability.