The NATO communique issued yesterday (see here) addresses China as a security threat to the West for the first time. However, within the text there is relatively little on China (vs Russia) other than reference to it being a “systemic rival”, mirroring earlier EU wording on its relations with China. Interestingly there’s no mention of the South China Sea, suggesting that NATO’s concerns are more to do with the EU and Turkey being on the same Eurasian land mass as China, and towards Chinese-built infrastructure edging up to the borders of the EU in particular. It also doesn’t mention that record supplies of equipment and products to and from Europe and China via intercontinental rail routes are a major boom to the EU’s economy.
This article was written by Bob Savic and Chris Devonshire-Ellis.
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