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NATO leaders on Monday declared that China poses a constant security challenge and is working to undermine global order, and they said they're worried about how fast the Chinese are developing nuclear missiles.
In a summit statement, the leaders said that China's goals and "assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security."
While the 30 heads of state and government avoided calling China a rival, they expressed concern about what they said were its "coercive policies," the opaque ways it is modernising its armed forces and its use of disinformation.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks with US President Joe Biden during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (AP)
They called on Beijing to uphold its international commitments and to act responsibly in the international system.
The statement comes as President Joe Biden has stepped up his effort to rally allies to speak in a more unified voice about China's human rights record, its trade practices and its military's increasingly assertive behaviour that has unnerved US allies in the Pacific.
Biden, who arrived at the summit after three days of consulting with Group of Seven allies in England, pushed for the G7 communique there that called out what it said were forced labor practices and other human rights violations impacting Uyghur
Muslims and other ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang province. The president said he was satisfied with the communique, although differences remain among the allies about how forcefully to criticise Beijing.
The new Brussels communique states plainly that the NATO nations "will engage China with a view to defending the security interests of the alliance."
US President Joe Biden speaks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a plenary session at a NATO summit in Brussels. (AP)
The Chinese Embassy to the United Kingdom on Monday issued a statement saying the G7 communique "deliberately slandered China and arbitrarily interfered in China's internal affairs," and exposed the "sinister intentions of a few countries, such as the United States." There was no immediate reaction from the Chinese government to the new NATO statement.
Biden arrived at his first NATO summit as president as leading members declared it a pivotal moment for an alliance beleaguered during the presidency of Donald Trump, who questioned the relevance of the multilateral organisation.
Shortly after arriving at the alliance's headquarters for the first NATO summit of his presidency, Biden sat down with NATO
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and underscored the U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the alliance charter, which spells out that an attack on one member is an attack on all and is to be met with a collective response.
US President Joe Biden meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit. (AP)
"Article 5 we take as a sacred obligation," Biden said. "I want NATO to know America is there."
It was a sharp shift in tone from the past four years, when Trump called the alliance "obsolete" and complained that it allowed for "global freeloading" countries to spend less on military defence at the expense of the US.
Looking forward, Stoltenberg noted myriad challenges still facing the alliance.
"We are meeting at the pivotal time for our alliance, the time of growing geopolitical competition, regional instability, terrorism, cyber attacks and climate change," Stoltenberg said at the start of a joint session of the NATO leaders. "No nation and no continent can deal with these challenges alone. But Europe and North America are not alone."
Biden, who came to Brussels following three days of consultations with Group of Seven leaders in England, was greeted by fellow leaders with warmth and even a bit of relief.
Belgium Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said Biden's presence "emphasises the renewal of the transatlantic partnership." De Croo said NATO allies were looking to get beyond four stormy years under the Trump administration and infighting among member countries.
READ MORE: G7 leaders back Australia on facing down China trade threats
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. (AP)
"I think now we are ready to turn the page," de Croo said.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi made a not-so-subtle dig at Trump, while welcoming Biden.
"This summit is a continuation of yesterday's G7 and is part of the process of reaffirming, of rebuilding the fundamental alliances of the United States that had been weakened by the previous administration," he said. "Think that President Biden's first visit is to Europe and try to remember where President Trump's first visit was?"
Trump's first overseas visit as president was to Saudi Arabia.
Trump routinely berated other NATO countries for not spending enough on defence and even threatened to pull the US out of the world's biggest security organisation and even questioned the mutual defence provision of the NATO charter, a central tenet of the alliance.
When alliance members last met for a summit in England in December 2019, Trump grabbed headlines by calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "two-faced" and French President Emmanuel Macron "nasty."
Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrives for a NATO summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (AP)
Trump lashed out after Trudeau was caught on a hot mic gossiping with other leaders about Trump turning photo opportunities into long news conferences. Ahead of the summit, Macron had declared NATO "brain dead" because of a void in US leadership under Trump.
The White House said the communique to be signed by alliance members at the end of the NATO summit is expected to include language about updating Article 5 to include major cyber attacks — a matter of growing concern amid a series of hacks targeting the US government and businesses around the globe by Russia-based hackers.
The update will spell out that if an alliance member needs technical or intelligence support in response to a cyber attack, it would be able to invoke the mutual defence provision to receive assistance, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
The president started his day meeting with leaders of the Baltic states on NATO's eastern flank as well as separate meetings with leaders of Poland and Romania to discuss the threat posed by Russia and the recent air piracy in Belarus, according to the White House.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has set his sights on taking back Taiwan, but is prepared to wait. (AP)
Biden's itinerary in Europe has been shaped so that he would first gather with G7 leaders and then with NATO allies in Brussels before his much-anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday. And with both summits,
Biden aimed to consult European allies on efforts to counter provocative actions by China and Russia.
Biden will meet later on Monday with Turkey's president, Erdogan, on the summit sidelines.
Biden has known Erdogan for years but their relationship has frequently been contentious. Biden, during his campaign, drew ire from Turkish officials after he described Erdogan as an "autocrat." In April, Biden infuriated Ankara by declaring that the
Ottoman-era mass killing and deportations of Armenians was "genocide" — a term that US presidents have avoided using.
www.9news.com.au
In a summit statement, the leaders said that China's goals and "assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security."
While the 30 heads of state and government avoided calling China a rival, they expressed concern about what they said were its "coercive policies," the opaque ways it is modernising its armed forces and its use of disinformation.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks with US President Joe Biden during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (AP)
They called on Beijing to uphold its international commitments and to act responsibly in the international system.
The statement comes as President Joe Biden has stepped up his effort to rally allies to speak in a more unified voice about China's human rights record, its trade practices and its military's increasingly assertive behaviour that has unnerved US allies in the Pacific.
Biden, who arrived at the summit after three days of consulting with Group of Seven allies in England, pushed for the G7 communique there that called out what it said were forced labor practices and other human rights violations impacting Uyghur
Muslims and other ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang province. The president said he was satisfied with the communique, although differences remain among the allies about how forcefully to criticise Beijing.
The new Brussels communique states plainly that the NATO nations "will engage China with a view to defending the security interests of the alliance."
US President Joe Biden speaks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a plenary session at a NATO summit in Brussels. (AP)
The Chinese Embassy to the United Kingdom on Monday issued a statement saying the G7 communique "deliberately slandered China and arbitrarily interfered in China's internal affairs," and exposed the "sinister intentions of a few countries, such as the United States." There was no immediate reaction from the Chinese government to the new NATO statement.
Biden arrived at his first NATO summit as president as leading members declared it a pivotal moment for an alliance beleaguered during the presidency of Donald Trump, who questioned the relevance of the multilateral organisation.
Shortly after arriving at the alliance's headquarters for the first NATO summit of his presidency, Biden sat down with NATO
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and underscored the U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the alliance charter, which spells out that an attack on one member is an attack on all and is to be met with a collective response.
US President Joe Biden meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit. (AP)
"Article 5 we take as a sacred obligation," Biden said. "I want NATO to know America is there."
It was a sharp shift in tone from the past four years, when Trump called the alliance "obsolete" and complained that it allowed for "global freeloading" countries to spend less on military defence at the expense of the US.
Looking forward, Stoltenberg noted myriad challenges still facing the alliance.
"We are meeting at the pivotal time for our alliance, the time of growing geopolitical competition, regional instability, terrorism, cyber attacks and climate change," Stoltenberg said at the start of a joint session of the NATO leaders. "No nation and no continent can deal with these challenges alone. But Europe and North America are not alone."
Biden, who came to Brussels following three days of consultations with Group of Seven leaders in England, was greeted by fellow leaders with warmth and even a bit of relief.
Belgium Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said Biden's presence "emphasises the renewal of the transatlantic partnership." De Croo said NATO allies were looking to get beyond four stormy years under the Trump administration and infighting among member countries.
READ MORE: G7 leaders back Australia on facing down China trade threats
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. (AP)
"I think now we are ready to turn the page," de Croo said.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi made a not-so-subtle dig at Trump, while welcoming Biden.
"This summit is a continuation of yesterday's G7 and is part of the process of reaffirming, of rebuilding the fundamental alliances of the United States that had been weakened by the previous administration," he said. "Think that President Biden's first visit is to Europe and try to remember where President Trump's first visit was?"
Trump's first overseas visit as president was to Saudi Arabia.
Trump routinely berated other NATO countries for not spending enough on defence and even threatened to pull the US out of the world's biggest security organisation and even questioned the mutual defence provision of the NATO charter, a central tenet of the alliance.
When alliance members last met for a summit in England in December 2019, Trump grabbed headlines by calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "two-faced" and French President Emmanuel Macron "nasty."
Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrives for a NATO summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (AP)
Trump lashed out after Trudeau was caught on a hot mic gossiping with other leaders about Trump turning photo opportunities into long news conferences. Ahead of the summit, Macron had declared NATO "brain dead" because of a void in US leadership under Trump.
The White House said the communique to be signed by alliance members at the end of the NATO summit is expected to include language about updating Article 5 to include major cyber attacks — a matter of growing concern amid a series of hacks targeting the US government and businesses around the globe by Russia-based hackers.
The update will spell out that if an alliance member needs technical or intelligence support in response to a cyber attack, it would be able to invoke the mutual defence provision to receive assistance, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
The president started his day meeting with leaders of the Baltic states on NATO's eastern flank as well as separate meetings with leaders of Poland and Romania to discuss the threat posed by Russia and the recent air piracy in Belarus, according to the White House.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has set his sights on taking back Taiwan, but is prepared to wait. (AP)
Biden's itinerary in Europe has been shaped so that he would first gather with G7 leaders and then with NATO allies in Brussels before his much-anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday. And with both summits,
Biden aimed to consult European allies on efforts to counter provocative actions by China and Russia.
Biden will meet later on Monday with Turkey's president, Erdogan, on the summit sidelines.
Biden has known Erdogan for years but their relationship has frequently been contentious. Biden, during his campaign, drew ire from Turkish officials after he described Erdogan as an "autocrat." In April, Biden infuriated Ankara by declaring that the
Ottoman-era mass killing and deportations of Armenians was "genocide" — a term that US presidents have avoided using.
NATO leaders declare China a global security challenge
www.9news.com.au
