NATO pivots to highlight Chinese ‘challenges’ for 1st time
Associated PressMADRID — NATO has for the first time singled out China as one of its strategic priorities for the next decade, warning about its growing military ambitions, confrontational rhetoric toward Taiwan and other neighbors, and increasingly close ties to Russia. Weeks before Russia’s February invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a summit at which they pledged a partnership that had “no limits.” Western leaders are concerned that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine could embolden China to be more assertive over Taiwan. Speaking at an event in Madrid that was not part of the NATO summit, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that unless China is checked “there is a real risk that they draw the wrong idea which results in a catastrophic miscalculation such as invading Taiwan,” referring to the self-governing island that China claims as a province. Following what he called a “very successful” meeting with the other three Pacific nations, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for China to finally denounce Russia’s aggressions. Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that NATO members had been “creating tension and provoking conflicts” by sending warships and aircraft into areas close to the Asian mainland and the South China Sea.