While it may not have been the case a few years ago, China is now one of NATO’s priorities, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged on Wednesday 17 June and Thursday 18 June.
And although the Allies are particularly concerned about Russia’s arsenal, China is not to be outdone. The Secretary-General thus called on Beijing to commit itself to arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation. “As a major military power, China also has major responsibilities. So as a rising global power, it is high time for China to participate in global arms control”, he told the press after the meetings of the defence ministers of the organisation’s member countries.
Mr Stoltenberg recalled that China now has the second largest defence budget in the world, that it is investing “massively” in new long-range weapons and missile systems capable of reaching all Alliance countries, and that it is modernising its maritime capabilities. “Over the past five years, the Chinese have added 80 ships and submarines to their navy. That equals the total number of ships and submarines in the navy of the United Kingdom”, he said.
Beyond the purely military aspect, Mr Stoltenberg recalled that China is moving closer to the Allies geographically by investing “heavily” in Africa and the Arctic, as well as in some NATO member countries. “And of course, we see them in cyberspace as well”, the Secretary-General added.
A presence that concerns the Allies. On Thursday 18 June, NATO thus updated their national guidelines, their “basic resilience requirements for critical infrastructure, energy, transport, and health systems”. The guidelines will also address cyber attacks, supply chains, and challenges related to foreign ownership and control - domains in which China is clearly present.
NATO also updated its basic telecommunications requirements last October, particularly in relation to the development of 5G, an area where, again, China, together with Huawei, has a key role to play. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)