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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wants to "open a new chapter in transatlantic relations"
Photo: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP
The expectations of the one-day NATO summit are high - at least for the Secretary General of the military alliance.
"Today we will open a new chapter in transatlantic relations," said Jens Stoltenberg at the start of the meeting, at which US President Joe Biden and the 29 other NATO heads of state and government come together in Brussels.
The summit is a "crucial moment," said Stoltenberg.
The one-day deliberations focus on realigning the alliance - especially with a view to China's growing influence.
"We know that China does not share our values," Stoltenberg affirmed his statement from the previous week.
NATO must react to this "together as an alliance".
In an interview with SPIEGEL, Stoltenberg recently said that NATO “does not see China as an adversary or an enemy”.
"But the rise of the country is the greatest security challenge of our time." The "NATO 2030" strategy to be adopted at the summit warns against the rise of the "systemic rival" China.
"China is moving closer to us," said the Secretary General, referring to the Chinese influence on the Internet, the commitment of the great power in Africa and Chinese investments in European infrastructure projects.
Stoltenberg avoids the term "enemy"
Stoltenberg said the country has made significant military moves in recent years and has also invested heavily in nuclear capabilities and modern weapon systems.
However, the former Norwegian Prime Minister did not want to refer to China as an “enemy” or “opponent”.
"China is not our opponent, but it poses security challenges," said the Secretary General.
As reported by the Reuters news agency, citing diplomats, the word "opponent" is likely to be avoided in the final declaration of the meeting.
However, it is expected that in future attacks in space will also be able to declare the alliance case.
China criticized G7 summit declaration
China recently responded with severe criticism to a G7 declaration.
In it, the seven leading industrial nations of the western world had spoken out in favor of joint action against unfair trade practices, human rights violations and the hard hand of Beijing in the former British crown colony of Hong Kong.
China then accused the G7 of "confrontation and division".
At its summit, NATO wants to adopt a unified position on the rise of China, intensify internal consultations at the political level and put its resilience to new dangers, such as cyber crime, to the test.
At the start, Stoltenberg also said that the alliance would continue to use a "two-way approach" towards Russia.
On the one hand troops should be stationed in the Baltic States and Poland, on the other hand the dialogue with Moscow should be maintained.
Further support for Afghanistan after the completion of the withdrawal of NATO troops will also be an issue.
US President Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet in Geneva on Wednesday.
The relationship between the two nuclear powers had recently deteriorated considerably.
fek / Reuters / dpa
