NATO says China is no adversary, but expresses concern over ties with Russia

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) does not view China as an adversary, but is concerned about Beijing’s increasingly close ties with Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the organization’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said. , this Tuesday (28)

“We don’t see China as an adversary,” Stoltenberg said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, saying that China will soon be the world’s biggest economy and that NATO needs to engage with Beijing on issues such as climate change.

“But we are disappointed that China has not been able to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that China is spreading many of the false narratives about NATO, the West and also that China and Russia are closer now than ever before. that has been there before,” he added.

NATO member states will meet on Tuesday in Madrid, Spain, to discuss security issues in Europe amid the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. The series of meetings should last until Thursday (30).

China’s growing influence in world politics and the impacts of climate change will also be among the topics discussed by the organization.

Stoltenberg said on Monday (27) that the NATO summit would be “transformative”. He added that the “new plan will guide us into an era of strategic competition.”

The meeting will also focus on writing a new Strategic Plan that will define NATO’s values, objectives and roles for the next decade – the current version was written in 2010 and therefore the guidelines need to be updated in view of the new world stage.

In addition, members should discuss Finland and Sweden’s membership applications to the organization.

*With information from Júlia Vieira, from CNN