US is pushing EU to tougher stance on China, - FT
The U.S. is pushing European allies to take a tougher stance toward Beijing, trying to use its leadership in helping Ukraine to win more support from NATO nations in its efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.
FT writes about this, Censor.NET reports with reference to Zn.ua.
According to people briefed on talks between the US and its NATO allies, Washington has been lobbying the alliance members in recent weeks to step up their rhetoric on China and begin working on concrete actions to rein in Beijing.
US President Joe Biden identified countering China as his main foreign policy goal early in his tenure, but his efforts have been hampered by a focus on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
However, even against the backdrop of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, Washington made a concerted effort to bring China back onto NATO's agenda, the publication's sources said.
According to them, the US is trying to use the actions it is taking on Ukraine - including being the largest supplier of arms and aid to Kyiv - to more specifically support its policy in the Indo-Pacific region.
"The movement on the part of the Americans in this matter has been noticeable. It is quite clear that they have decided that now is the time to move on," one of the interlocutors told the FT on condition of anonymity.
When asked about such a push, a senior US official noted that in June, NATO countries agreed on a new strategic concept aimed at addressing systemic challenges posed by China.
"Our conversations on these issues are ongoing," the official added.
Referring to the fact that 30 NATO allies approved the new concept at a summit in Madrid in June, a representative of the US State Department noted that the foreign ministers of the Alliance countries will consider ways to strengthen stability and respond to challenges from China at a meeting in Bucharest.
"We deeply appreciate and encourage a united European approach to China," the official added.
Coordination of NATO countries' approaches to China is high on the list of topics to be discussed at the two-day meeting of foreign ministers.
"What we have begun to do within NATO is to think about how the Alliance can respond to this challenge [from China] in concrete terms. Allies will seek to implement what they signed up to, to move from what we call assessment of the problem, before its solution," said US Ambassador to NATO Julianna Smith.
The heads of foreign affairs of the NATO countries will discuss a new report on China, designed to strengthen the position of the Alliance, which at the summit in June for the first time identified Beijing as a "challenge" to its "interests, security and values".
According to officials, the report will examine China's military development, its efforts to influence NATO and third countries, and Beijing's relationship with Moscow.
But many European allies worry that such discussions could distract from what they see as the more pressing need to cement unwavering support for Ukraine.
In addition, while the EU is also evaluating ways to strengthen its trade relations with China, a number of NATO countries, including Germany and France, are reluctant to fully align their position on Beijing with that of Washington.
"Let's put it this way, the United States has a certain tendency to be prescriptive, not just about China, but about everything. Are we going to be, say, completely isolated and in the middle between China and the United States? I don't think so," said a senior EU official. which suggested that Europe would eventually move closer to the US position.
While Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has forced the White House to increase its commitment to European defense, the US has made clear that this is a temporary reprieve on the way to a long-term transition to countering China as its main strategic defense and security policy.
Last month, the Biden administration released its national security strategy, which made clear that China is a priority, even in the face of an "imminent and continuing" threat from Russia.
Canada recently announced its first Indo-Pacific strategy, outlining new spending to counter China's aggressive actions.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last week that Beijing is "not an adversary," but stressed that the alliance must respond to China's military modernization, Beijing's cooperation with Russia and its attempts to "control critical infrastructure in Europe."
"So all this forces the allies to solve this issue together. And this is exactly what we will do when we meet in Bucharest," Stoltenberg emphasized.
China is not satisfied with the current system of the world order, where Western values and standards prevail, global institutions "subordinate to the USA" function. Beijing offers its own, according to its claims, a fairer alternative to the current US-dominated world order - "building a human society with a shared future." However, China's rhetoric does not always match its actions.
