China lashes out after Nato says it is ‘decisive enabler’ of Ukraine war

Nato members urge China to ‘cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort’

China will never accept the “unfounded accusations” of Nato that Beijing is a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, foreign minister Wang Yi said.

Nato, a military alliance of 32 North American and European countries, issued a declaration after a three-day summit in Washington on the 75^th anniversary of the bloc’s formation.

With its “no-limits partnership” with Russia and its “large-scale support for its defence industrial base” China has become a war enabler, the communique said. The Nato members urged China to “cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort”.

The Nato declaration on Wednesday came as the alliance, which has historically focused on security in Europe and North America, has also seen engagement from US allies in Asia, including Japan, South Korea and New Zealand even as they are not a part of the military alliance.

The leaders of the three countries joined the summit for the third year in a row as the war in Ukraine pitted the West against Russia and its friends and bolstered the argument for closer cooperation between the US, Europe and their Asian allies.

In a phone call with the foreign minister of the Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, Mr Wang said: “China absolutely does not accept the groundless accusations made at the recent summit in Washington against China”.

“Nato should stay within its bounds, and refrain from interfering in Asia-Pacific affairs or China’s internal affairs, and from challenging China’s legitimate rights and interests,” Mr Wang said, according to Chinese state media.

He said Bejing is “willing to maintain contact with Nato on the basis of equality and engage in exchanges on the basis of mutual respect”.

On Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry hit out at Nato’s “belligerent rhetoric”, urging it to “stop interfering in China’s internal politics and smearing China’s image and not create chaos in the Asia-Pacific after creating turmoil in Europe”.

US president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden pose for a picture with Nato allies and partners ahead of a dinner at the White House in Washington (Reuters)

"Nato agitating about China’s responsibility on the Ukraine issue is unreasonable and has sinister motives," spokesperson Lin Jian said at a daily briefing, maintaining that China has a fair and objective stance on the Ukraine issue.

He said Nato’s "so-called security" is at the cost of the security of other countries. China has backed Russia’s contention that Nato expansion posed a threat to Russia.

In a separate statement from its mission to the European Union, China condemned the Nato statement as “filled with Cold War mentality and belligerent rhetoric” and it was filled with “obvious lies and smears”.

“China is not the creator to the Ukraine crisis. China’s position on Ukraine is open and aboveboard. We aim to promote peace talks and seek political settlement,” it said.

China which has taken a neutral stance in the war has been accused of aiding the war by sending dual-use goods to Moscow. Beijing has denied supplying weapons.

Christopher Luxon, New Zealand's prime minister; Kim Keon Hee, first lady of South Korea; Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea's president; Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president (EPA)

The Chinese sidealso reiterated that it had never provided weapons in conflict and has strict controls over dual-use weapons, calling trade ties with Russia “normal”.

China has also become Russia’s top trade partner, surpassing the European Union, ramping up energy trade with Beijing, throwing a crucial security net to its economy under sanctions.

“The Asia-Pacific region is a place for peaceful development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical competition … NATO should not become the disrupter of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific,” Beijing’s EU mission said in the statement.

China, which has positioned itself as a mediator for a peaceful resolution in the war, said its “core position on the Ukraine issue is to promote peace talks and political settlement”.

It said that the middle path it would been seeking “has been widely recognized and appreciated by the international community”.

Danny Russel, a former assistant secretary of state for Asia, said the new wording of the statement by Nato was “an extraordinary step,” particularly because it included it warning that Beijing continues to pose “systemic challenges” to European interests and security in the same communiqué.

“It is a mark of how badly Beijing’s attempt to straddle Russia and Western Europe has failed and how hollow its claim of neutrality rings,” Mr Russel said.

“China’s attempts at divide-and-conquer have instead produced remarkable solidarity between key nations of the Euro-Atlantic and the Asia-Pacific regions.”