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Stuart Lau

For now, China is not an immediate military threat on the scale of Russia.
But as the Asian nation extends its power, global reach and ambitions, it poses challenges to open and democratic countries.
That was the conclusion of a group of independent advisers commissioned by Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg to look at ways to strengthen the transatlantic alliance.
The assessment in the “Nato 2030” report reflects a bigger, more hawkish shift in Europe on China over the last year.
The shift was prompted by a mix of concerns, from China’s technological advancement, and slow progress on opening up to foreign companies, to its geopolitical influence in the developing world; and moves Europe closer to the US position on China.


For the large part, European politicians have been less critical about China than their US counterparts, particularly during the presidency of Donald Trump.
While China and the United States have been engaged in a trade war and muscle-flexing in the South China Sea over the last few years, Europe has focused on resolving economic and investment differences.
But in the last two years, the US progressively lobbied European partners – many of which are also part of Nato – on 5G technology. Among the major US claims is that China’s world-leading communications supplier Huawei Technologies is a national security risk and a threat to transatlantic intelligence sharing.
Then last year, the European Union began classifying China as a systemic rival and Nato leaders – including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel – described Beijing as a threat.
At the time, there was still no indication of much European military interest in China but more recently, European defence ministers – an important part of Nato – have taken a sharper tone, most notably Germany’s Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer who has called for a transatlantic alliance with the US to confront China.
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While that threat is not yet a direct military one, China is more than an economic player, according to the Nato 2030 report released on Tuesday.
“The scale of Chinese power and global reach poses acute challenges to open and democratic societies, particularly because of that country’s trajectory to greater authoritarianism and an expansion of its territorial ambitions,” the report said.
Professor Luis Simon, a Nato expert from the Free University of Brussels and Elcano Royal Institute think tank, said the report presented competition with China “not in naked power terms of the US vs China, but as part of a broader ideological ... clash of democracy vs autocracy”.
“Incidentally, this allows for a move from Trump’s ‘US vs China’ to a ‘West vs China’ pitch,” Simon said.
For Beijing, the most surprising remark in the Nato report was the reference to China as a threat facing Europe, according to a person with knowledge of the thinking of the Chinese delegation to the European Union. Both the EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation are headquartered in Brussels. All Nato members, apart from the United States and Canada, are in Europe.
“Europe is not yet designating China as a threat, it may come later,” Antoine Bondaz, a China specialist at the Foundation for Strategic Research, a Paris-based think tank. “But for sure, China is becoming an issue of concern since Chinese military capacities are being displayed closer to Europe: from the Arctic to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in cyber and space.”
China’s nightmare scenario of an ‘eastern Nato’ starts to take shape. Donald Trump isn’t the only reason
Stoltenberg spelt out that threat in blunt terms in an interview with a German newspaper in June, saying: “One thing is clear: China is coming ever closer to Europe’s doorstep. Nato allies must face this challenge together.”
Speaking after the report was published, Stoltenberg’s predecessor, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told the Post: “The time has come to find a new formula given the size of Nato, the range of operations it undertakes, and how technology is changing modern warfare.
“With China expanding its military reach, malign strategic investment and disinformation campaigns into Nato’s orbit, the alliance will need to find new ways to coordinate our protection and resilience.”
Wess Mitchell, who was the top State Department official for Europe from 2017 to 2019 and co-chaired the group that wrote the 67-page report, said: “The really big message is that Nato has to adapt itself for an era of great power competition that includes not only Russia, but also China.”
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To that end, the EU has been actively seeking a renewed relationship with the US since the election of Joe Biden as the next US president, even though the policy focus so far has been on China’s non-military challenges.
China has sought to downplay the risks cited by Nato, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying asking the security alliance to have a “proper understanding” of her country.
But there are tensions between China and its neighbours that could complicate that “understanding”.
China’s renewed military conflicts with India this year have also played a part in hardening Europe’s view, not least because they coincided with the EU’s nascent diplomatic interest in the Indo-Pacific region, with India seen as a like-minded partner for Europe in the democratic part of Asia.
So much so that the report suggested Nato forge a partnership with India in the future. At the same time, all 27 EU leaders have confirmed a summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May in Porto, as Portugal assumes the rotating EU Council presidency.
Meanwhile, a planned summit between all 27 EU leaders and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the German city of Leipzig in September failed to happen.
“In foreign policy matters, the crown jewel of the Portuguese presidency will be [the summit with] Modi,” Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said in November. “It is a meeting that I consider to be of utmost importance to Europe to emphasise the importance of the relationship with the whole Indo-Pacific region.”


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Nato members must work together to confront the challenges of China, according to a new report. Photo: AP Photo

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The EU is reportedly planning to ask US President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration to seize a “once in a generation” opportunity to forge a new global alliance to meet the “strategic challenge” posed by China. Photo: Reuters

***ONE TIME USE ONLY, PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE RE-USE - OTUO*** Senator Jim Risch, the chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called his EU counterpart on the same day the European Union leadership spoke to US president-elect Joe Biden for the first time. Photo: EPA-EFE

European leaders call for unity with US against China

US and European Union flags at EU headquarters in Brussels in 2017, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

(201110) -- RABAT, Nov. 10, 2020 (Xinhua) -- French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian attends a joint press conference with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Rabat, Morocco, Nov. 9, 2020. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his French counterpart, Jean Yves Le Drian, talked on bilateral ties and regional crises on Monday in the North African country's capital Rabat. During a joint press conference after their talks, the two ministers highlighted "the exceptional partnership" and the "regularity of their strong relations" between Morocco and France. (Xinhua)

EU leader at UN calls out China for its human rights record and its business practices

Charles Michel (on screens), the president of the European Council, addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday. Photo: United Nations via EPA-EFE

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he attends a news conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool/File Photo

Chinese foreign minister urges Germany to resist US pressure play for disengagement with China

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accuses “anti-China forces” in the US of creating “ideological confrontation and openly threatening other countries to take a side” in America’s disputes with China. Photo: AP

(200724) -- BEIJING, July 24, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas via video link in Beijing, capital of China, July 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (not pictured), at Lancaster House in London, Britain July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool/File Photo

News

China

Diplomacy


A new report says Beijing poses challenges to democratic countries and the transatlantic alliance must work together to meet them
The report points to a bigger shift in Europe on the Asian giant towards the US position



A new report says Beijing poses challenges to democratic countries and the transatlantic alliance must work together to meet them.


Not friends. Not enemies. Where to now for Nato on China?

A new report says Beijing poses challenges to democratic countries and the transatlantic alliance must work together to meet them The report points to a bigger shift in Europe on the Asian giant towards the US position

A new report says Beijing poses challenges to democratic countries and the transatlantic alliance must work together to meet them

The report points to a bigger shift in Europe on the Asian giant towards the US position