Daily Mail

We’ll stand up to China’s growing power, says Nato

- By Mark Nicol Diplomacy Editor

NATO yesterday vowed to confront China’s military ambitions for the first time.

In a landmark communique, the 30-nation alliance said the regime in Beijing presented ‘systemic challenges to the rules-based internatio­nal order’.

Secretary-general Jens Stoltenber­g said: ‘China is coming closer to us. We see them in cyberspace, we see China in Africa, but we also see China investing heavily in our own critical infrastruc­ture.

‘China is not our enemy or adversary, but we need to address together as an alliance the challenges that the rise of China poses to our security.’

At the summit in Brussels Joe Biden confirmed Nato’s ‘critical importance’ – a stark contrast to his predecesso­r as US President, Donald Trump, who denigrated the alliance. He told fellow leaders that Europe’s defence was Washington’s ‘sacred obligation’ and credited Nato states for increasing defence spending.

He said: ‘I want all Europe to know that the United States is there. Nato is critically important for the US interest in and of itself, if there weren’t one we’d have to invent one.’

Boris Johnson said that China was ‘a gigantic fact in our lives and a new strategic considerat­ion for Nato’.

But the PM added: ‘I don’t think anybody around the table today wants to descend into a new cold war with China.’

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