China: Ukraine War Takes Heavy Toll on Europe; US Benefits from It

“We would like to warn NATO that hyping up the so-called China threat is completely futile,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press conference.

In a document that defines the alliance’s strategic outlook for the next decade, titled Strategic Concept 2022, NATO said on Wednesday that China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values.”

NATO’s Strategic Concept 2022 was released during the bloc’s three-day summit, which began on Tuesday and will last through Thursday.

Beijing denounced NATO’s blatant accusations, urging the 30-member bloc to drop its “Cold War mentality.”

“NATO’s so-called new strategy concept document disregards the facts, gives a false account of the true facts, wrongly defines China as posing a strategic challenge and smears China's foreign policy,” Zhao said.

“It opposes China's normal military development and national defense policy, is irresponsible, encourages conflict, and is full of Cold War thinking and ideological prejudice. China is seriously concerned and firmly opposed to this,” he further said, accusing NATO members of repeated “forays into the Asia-Pacific region.”

The Chinese official also urged NATO to stop drawing what he called “ideological lines, stoking political confrontation, or seeking to start a new Cold War”, calling on the US-led bloc to abandon “the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game mindset and stop making enemies.”

Zhao also said NATO had already disrupted Europe and that it should not seek to destabilize Asia and the rest of the world.

US started Ukraine crisis, benefits from it: Beijing

Elsewhere in his comments, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman turned to the nations imposing sanctions on Russia and providing Ukraine with advanced weapons before accusing Washington of benefiting from the conflict.

“The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has taken a heavy toll on Europe politically, economically and socially, while the US benefits from it, with arms dealers popping champagne and American grain and energy industries making exorbitant profits,” Zhao said.

“As the one who started the Ukraine crisis and the biggest factor fueling it, the US needs to reflect on its disreputable role it has played in the Ukraine crisis and stop smearing China,” he further noted.