Stoltenberg Says China Not NATO's 'Adversary,' 'Clear Stance' Expected Following Summit

Stoltenberg Says China Not NATO's 'Adversary,' 'Clear Stance' Expected Following Summit

NATO member states are expected to present a "clear position" on China in a final statement following the Monday summit, but the alliance does not consider Beijing to be its adversary, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th June, 2021) NATO member states are expected to present a "clear position" on China in a final statement following the Monday summit, but the alliance does not consider Beijing to be its adversary, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.

"We are not entering a new Cold War and China is not our adversary, not our enemy, but we need to address together as an alliance the challenges that the rise of China poses to our security," Stoltenberg said in a doorstep statement.

"I also expect allies to agree language in the communique, and you have to remember that 18 months that was the first time NATO had language on China at all. In our current strategic concept, China is not mentioned by word. At the summit in London in 2019, we had one sentence addressing China. This time it will be a clear position, a united position by allies on China," he added.