NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a news conference during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain on June 29, 2022. Photo: IC

China firmly opposes NATO's so-called Strategic Concept filled with Cold War thinking and ideological bias, which is maliciously attacking and smearing China, spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the EU said in response to NATO's comments on China in its new Strategic Concept, vowing to make firm and strong responses toward acts that undermine China's interests. 

The NATO summit, which kicked off on June 29 in Madrid, Spain, approved a "new Strategic Concept for the Alliance," which set out the priorities, core tasks and approaches for the next decade. It also addressed China for the first time and the challenges that Beijing poses toward Allies' security, interests and values. 

In response, spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the EU said that as a Cold War remnant and the world's largest military alliance, NATO has not yet abandoned its thinking and practice of creating "enemies" and engaging in bloc confrontation 30 years after the end of the Cold War. 

According to the spokesperson, the Strategic Concept claims that other countries pose challenges, but it is NATO that is creating problems around the world. NATO claims to be a defensive organization that upholds the rules-based international order, but it has bypassed the UN Security Council and waged wars against sovereign states, creating huge casualties and leaving tens of millions displaced. NATO claims that its defense zone will not go beyond the North Atlantic, but it has flexed its muscle in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years and sought to stir up bloc confrontation here, as it has done in Europe. 

China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace, and is a force for world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order. China has never initiated a war or invaded an inch of other countries' land. China does not interfere in others' internal affairs and export ideology, still less engage in long-arm jurisdiction, unilateral sanctions or economic coercion, the spokesperson noted. 

China always upholds the international system with the UN at its core, the international order underpinned by international law and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the spokesperson said. 

China has promoted the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, advanced high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, put forward the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, providing a large number of public goods for the international community to address major issues such as peace and development. China's development represents an opportunity for the world, not a challenge for anyone. 

We urge NATO to stop provoking confrontation by drawing ideological lines, abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game approach, and stop spreading disinformation and provocative statements against China, the spokesperson said, adding that since NATO positions China as a "systemic challenge," we have to pay close attention and respond in a coordinated way. 

When it comes to acts that undermine China's interests, we will make firm and strong responses, the spokesperson said. 

Global Times