BRUSSELS: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has accused China of sustaining Russia’s economy in the face of Western sanctions over the Ukraine war.
Speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels with Asia-Pacific partners Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Stoltenberg warned that Beijing and Moscow were pushing back against the rules-based international order.
He said, “China refuses to condemn Russia’s aggression. It echoes Russian propaganda. And it props up Russia’s economy,” adding that a unified stance was needed to counter this.
The accusation came as French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beijing to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Macron warned that anyone helping “aggressor” Russia in its war on Ukraine would be viewed as an “accomplice.”
NATO chief hopes China can play major role in Ukraine peace
However, he also said that Beijing could play a “major role” in finding a peaceful solution to Ukraine conflict and insisted Europe must not “disassociate ourselves from China.”
Stoltenberg reiterated Western warnings to China not to supply weaponry to Moscow’s struggling forces in Ukraine, saying that NATO had “not been able to confirm” any arms deliveries by China to Russia so far.
Stoltenberg also invited the leaders of the four Asia-Pacific partners to NATO’s Vilnius summit in July as the alliance looks to boost its links with the region.
The growing ties between China and Russia have been a concern for NATO, which sees them as a threat to the rules-based international order.
NATO has accused Russia of aggression in Ukraine, and the West has imposed sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The accusations against China come at a time of increasing tensions between Beijing and the West, with concerns raised about China’s human rights record, its treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang province, and its crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong.
China has denied the allegations and accused the West of interference in its internal affairs.
