US President Biden and NATO allies warned about China’s global influence, also identifying Russia as a threat to European security, as Biden sought to bolster an alliance at the NATO conference held yesterday in Brussels. Disputes between the member countries have complicated the situation regarding threats originating from China and Russia, and slightly competing interests have prevented concrete policies from being formed. Key issues discussed at the meeting included cybersecurity and space threats.
China is mentioned nearly a dozen times in a 79-paragraph communique released on Monday, representing a shift from past NATO summits during which the country was barely mentioned. This somewhat proves the country’s dramatic rise in influence over the past few years. The communique states that China presents systemic challenges to international-order based rules. NATO also expresses concerns over the country’s expanding nuclear arsenal and military cooperation with Russia. Russia also remains a central concern for NATO countries as it is referred to more than 60 times in the document due to issues such as cyberattacks, the annexation of Crimea, and military buildups.
