Biden joins NATO in crusade to ‘contain’ China, which reacts with fury

Joe biden can still be smiling and not unblock aggressive tweets at any time of the day or night, but his first European tour shows that you are much more determined than Donald trump challenge the hegemonic expansion of China, including at the military level, a task to which he wishes to add to his European and Asian allies Yet the NATO.

The harvest of the passage of the American president through the G7 summit, the weekend at England, and for that of the Atlantic Alliance, Monday to Brussels – an economic plan to challenge the “new silk road”, the criticism of human rights in China and the evocation of the “military threat” of the Asian giant – deeply irritated Beijing.

The G7 joins the global challenge of Chinese expansion

The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Lijian, denied that his country represents a “Systemic challenge” to international order, as NATO asserted in its post-summit statement, and rejected G7 accusations about the situation of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, the repression of the democratic forces of Hong Kong and the situation of Taiwan

“The affairs of Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan are purely China’s internal affairs, which does not admit any interference from outside forces, “said spokesman Zhao, who warned that Beijing” will resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests. “

After the summit with the presence of the North American President, the NATO Secretary General, the Norwegian Jens StoltenbergHe said that “China is not our adversary, our enemy”, but we must face the challenges it poses to our security. “

“Our alliance is strong. NATO is united and America is back“Stoltenberg said in his press conference with Biden.

In its statement, the Atlantic Alliance argues that “China’s ambitions and behavior represent systemic challenges for rules-based international order“And calls on Beijing to” respect its international commitments and act responsibly in the international system, including in the space, cyber and maritime fields. “

In order to Ezequiel Ramoneda, researcher of the University of La Plata, Biden “is not only seeking to reestablish links damaged by Trump in Europe and some Asian countries, but he has also begun to coordinate a multilateral external position from different fronts ”.

United States, for its part Luciano Bolinaga, Director of Austral University Center for Asian Legal, Political and Economic Studies, “He knows he has to negotiate with China but is at a disadvantage. This is why he seeks to deteriorate his image, to generate a conflict and thus to attract Beijing to the negotiating table ”.

Communiques from the G7 and NATO indicate that the American president has succeeded in convincing his European allies that, “although he knows that his ties with China are complex, because they involve military, technological, economic, ‘infrastructure and investment, to be now more attentive to the actions of Beijing, “adds Ramoneda.

Biden, underlines the specialist, academic secretary of the UNLP Asia and Pacific Department, “Builds a working multilateral diplomatic strategy to advance China’s assertive presence, contain it or channel it into what they call a rules-based order.”

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao categorically rejected the existence of a “rules-based order,” as NATO claims. “There is only one system and one type of order, which is the international system, with the United Nations as its core and the international order based on international law,” he said.

“Forge camarillas, practice it blocking policy and force other countries to choose between sides based on ideology, it runs counter to the historical trend of peace, development and cooperation. He is doomed to be unpopular and to fail, ”accused Zhao, who denied the existence of a “Military threat” from his country.

The difficult balance between the American friend and the Chinese partner

The spokesman said his country is leading China’s “normal development of national defense and military modernization”, including military spending per capita “this is less than a fifth that of NATO and below the world average, ”he stressed.

Bolinaga warns that “the weaker the power asymmetries between the great powers, the more unstable the system becomes and tends to conflict on a global scale. With the speed with which changes are taking place today, we must not rule out the possibility of another major conflict ”.

“Today the United States has two options: or build a pacific community as in the past with the Atlantic, or face china. In the first scenario, the system becomes more stable, in the second the scenario can be apocalyptic»Concludes the specialist from the University of Austral.

CP