NATO summit ends with harsh words about Russia

NATO leaders wrapped up a summit on Monday in Brussels, Belgium by pointing the finger at Russia and China, and by vowing to bolster their military capabilities with an ambitious NATO 2030 agenda.

A communique issued by the 30-member organization after the summit said NATO countries and their citizens face multifaceted threats, systemic competition from assertive and authoritarian powers, and growing security challenges from all strategic directions.

Its words about Russia were much harsher than those about China, which was not mentioned by NATO until 18 months ago.

"Russia's aggressive actions constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security," said the communique.

NATO accused Russia of continuing to breach the values, principles, trust, and commitments outlined in agreed documents that underpin the NATO-Russia relationship. But it also noted that NATO continues to aspire to have a constructive relationship with Russia when its actions make that possible.

On China, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the organization does not view the country as an adversary.

"Based on our interests, we see opportunities to engage on issues such as arms control and climate change. But China's growing influence and international policies present challenges to the alliance's security," he said during a news conference after the summit. "We need to engage with China to defend our security interests."

Stoltenberg, a Norwegian politician who has been in the post since 2014, expressed concern about China's growing military capabilities, its spending, and "coercive" behaviors, and the nation's joint exercises with Russia, especially in the Euro-Atlantic area.

But he dismissed any concern around NATO allies' close economic ties with China potentially hampering the group's security strategy.

At the summit, NATO leaders agreed on the organization's 2030 agenda, with a number of concrete actions to ensure that the alliance can face the challenges from today and tomorrow, clearly with China in mind, according to Stoltenberg.

Speaking before the summit, the United Kingdom's prime minister, Boris Johnson, said: "China is a gigantic fact in our lives and a new strategic consideration for NATO, which spent so much time in the last 72 years thinking about the former Soviet Union and various security threats posed from that area.

"But I think, when it comes to China, I don't think anybody around the table today wants to descend to a new Cold War with China."

In a statement, a spokesman from the Chinese Mission to the EU said on Monday that NATO saying China poses "systemic challenge" in its communique is defamatory toward China and its peaceful development and a misjudgment of the international situation and NATO's own role.

The spokesman said China has firmly implemented a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. China's military modernization is reasonable, open, and transparent. And China's defense budget in 2021 only accounted for 1.3 percent of its GDP, which was much lower than NATO's threshold of 2 percent. And China's nuclear arsenal is only a small fraction of the US stockpile, or 5 percent of NATO's total stockpile.

The spokesman urged NATO to rationally look at China's development and stop playing up various "China threat" theories.

Shen Dingli, a professor and former executive dean at the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, said it is understandable that the West feels unease about China's rise because it has weakened the traditional competitive edge and influence of the West.

He said it is also necessary for the West to cooperate with China on regional and global issues, such as on climate change, the Iran nuclear deal, Afghanistan after the US troop withdrawal, and Myanmar.

"China doesn't have to worry too much since the West won't be able to agree fully on how to deal with China," he said.

Alexander Stubb, a former prime minister of Finland, said it is very important to try to find a balance when there is a lot of talk about the role of China.

"And in many ways, I want to see the role of Europe as being the great stabilizer, understanding we must have cooperation, we must find common solutions, but still being really strong and tough on democracy," he told Euronews on Monday, noting that he is from a country with a long border with Russia.

While NATO's European allies have expressed displeasure about the US decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, the communique said withdrawing troops does not mean ending its relationship with Afghanistan.

"We will now open a new chapter. We affirm our commitment to continue to stand with Afghanistan, its people, and its institutions in promoting security and upholding the hard-won gains of the last 20 years," the communique said.

According to the Costs of War project at Brown University, the 20-year war has killed more than 170,000 people in Afghanistan, including more than 47,000 civilians.

Attending a NATO summit for the first time as US president, Joe Biden said: "NATO is critically important for US interests in and of itself."

Former US president Donald Trump infuriated NATO members in Europe by scolding them often for not spending enough money on supporting the alliance and for relying on the US to shoulder the expense.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, warned European nations in 2019 that they could no longer rely on the US to defend NATO allies.

"What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO," Macron said at the time.