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NATO Has Joined The United States In Viewing China As A ‘Security Risk’, Says US Envoy
The United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were “late to the game,” but now clearly see that China is a “risk,” US envoy Kay Bailey Hutchison said Wednesday, citing the strengthening. Beijing’s military: its continued theft of intellectual property and its measures to suppress dissent in Hong Kong. His remarks were the latest from a senior Trump administration official who highlighted the United States’ intense distrust of China during the Xi Jinping era, and its persistent efforts to persuade allies to respect China and its Communist Party. same way. “I think we were late for the game. We have been slow to assess China as a risk, ”Hutchison said. “Or we bring them in, as I said before, and give them all the benefits of the doubt, but now, I would say, we are a little more lucid.” Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter at Speaking to a virtual audience hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British think tank, Hutchison said the world had tried to give Beijing a chance to participate in the “rule-based order” but had shown that he could not be trusted to play fair. He cited Beijing’s measures to enforce Hong Kong’s controversial national security law and punish dissent in the city. “You cannot see what has been going on in the Hong Kong crackdown, and the violations of what China agreed to,” he said, referring to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, “and not realize that China does not It is abiding by the rules they agreed to. “Hutchison’s comments followed similar comments Monday at a Politico-sponsored event hosted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said that China’s rise” is really changing the environment. security we face. “And a new report commissioned by NATO on the future of the alliance said:” The scale of Chinese power and global reach pose acute challenges for open and democratic societies, particularly because of that country’s trajectory towards a greater authoritarianism and an expansion of its territorial ambitions ”. No friends. No enemies. Where is NATO going now in China? Carisa Nietsche, a research associate in the transatlantic security program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank, told the South China Morning Post that while Europe and the US are beginning to converge on how they view China , “claims that the entire alliance clearly sees the risk are illusions.” “There is also an illiberal convergence,” Nietsche said. “Beijing has tried to eliminate members of the NATO alliance, such as Hungary and Turkey, who have leaders who share the leadership style of Xi’s strongmen and are strengthening their own hold on power in their countries.” Some members of the alliance may also be hesitant to take on China because they were concerned it could distract NATO’s attention to Russia, said Andrew Small, a senior transatlantic member of the German Marshall Fund’s Asia program. NATO “really fell behind in the basic analysis of risks related to China,” he said. “There is a clear list of areas … that the alliance should have addressed some time ago, and I think there has been an awakening to that in the period since the United States put it so firmly on the table.” US defense bill includes 5G rules to pressure Huawei and ZTE In Washington, the Trump administration has not been the only one trying to convince US allies to take a tougher line with China. force the Pentagon to reconsider whether to send weapons or troops to allied countries abroad if those countries also use Chinese 5G communications technology. Hutchison cited 5G as an area of concern he had about China’s presence in Europe. He said that 25 out of 30 NATO member states had committed to the State Department’s “Clean Network” initiative that bypasses Chinese 5G technology. While the Trump administration has raised the alarm over China, Donald Trump has also criticized NATO during his presidency, usually focusing on the amount of money that other member states pay. “For four years, we have treated our friends as our enemies, and that has certainly weakened America’s political capital to convince allies to take up the challenge from China,” Nietsche said. Hutchison insisted that European allies were in line with the United States. ” I think NATO agrees with the position of what we are all trying to do, ”he said. “Everyone is aware now that we must do what it takes to bring China in, but be prepared for a major power competition.” More from South China Morning Post: * Biden May Have Difficulty ‘Restoring’ US Foreign Policy to Meet China’s Challenge, Experts Say * US to Target More China Officials Over Hong Kong Crackdown, sources say This article NATO has joined the US on China as a ‘security risk’, says US envoy first appeared on South China Morning Post Morning Post download our app mobile. Copyright 2020.
