NATO must focus on the threat posed by China to ‘our values and way of life’, the military body’s chief says
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- ‘China will soon have the biggest economy in the world,’ he said
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NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said the military body must focus on the threat posed by China to ‘our values and way of life’ .
Mr Stoltenberg called for a ‘more global approach’ in response to China in a speech on Monday setting out his vision for the future of the organisation.
He also expressed security concerns that have been ‘magnified’ by the coronavirus pandemic and said that the West is becoming more conscious of the dangers of relying on China for goods and technology.
It comes after the UK announced last month that it would review the role of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in building its 5G network.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the military body must focus on the threat posed by China to ‘our values and way of life’
‘The rise of China is fundamentally shifting the global balance of power, heating up the race for economic and technological supremacy, multiplying the threats to open societies and individual freedoms and increasing the competition over our values and our way of life,’ he said.
Mr Stoltenberg said China’s military might could not be ignored and the US and Europe had to remain united.
‘We cannot ignore the consequences of the rise of China. China will soon have the biggest economy in the world, they already have the second largest defence budget.
‘They are investing heavily in new modern capabilities, in the last five years they added 80 ships to their navy which equals the total amount of ships in the Royal Navy.’
Critics, especially Donald Trump’s US administration, have claimed Huawei’s equipment could be used to spy on people and governments in the West – allegations the company has repeatedly denied. Above, Mr Stoltenberg pictured with Donald Trump and Boris Johnson
The secretary-general welcomed a review of Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s 5G network, which was announced last month, and warned that the West ‘cannot ignore the consequences of the rise of China’.
Stoltenberg said Beijing’s influence was being felt far beyond Asia and the alliance had to respond to the fact that ‘China is coming closer to us’ through investment in critical infrastructure such as 5G.
The UK Government allowed Huawei’s equipment to play a limited role in the 5G network in January but has since launched another review assessing the impact of US sanctions on the firm.
Critics, especially Donald Trump’s US administration, have claimed Huawei’s equipment could be used to spy on people and governments in the West – allegations the company has repeatedly denied.
Stoltenberg said Beijing’s influence was being felt far beyond Asia and the alliance had to respond to the fact that ‘China is coming closer to us’ through investment in critical infrastructure such as 5G
Mr Stoltenberg said NATO members had to focus on the ‘resilience of critical infrastructure’ against a backdrop of Chinese investment in Europe.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today: ‘This is not about a global presence of NATO but it is about the global approach of NATO because China is coming closer to us – we see that in the Arctic, we see they are heavily investing in critical infrastructure in Europe, and we see of course China also operating in cyberspace.
‘So this is not about deploying NATO into the South China Sea but responding to the fact that China is coming closer to us.’
On the issue of Huawei, he added: ‘I trust that the UK Government will design their networks in ways that protect the networks and make sure that the UK has secure 5G networks and therefore also think it’s important that now there will be a new review looking at exactly how to make sure that that should happen.’