Shomporko Online News Desk: NATO leaders labeled China as posing “systemic difficulties,” taking a tough stance against Beijing at Joe Biden’s first meeting with an alliance that Donald Trump publicly mocked declaration released on Monday.
The incoming US president has urged NATO leaders to stand up to China’s authoritarianism and expanding military might, signaling a shift in focus for an alliance that was formed to defend Europe against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The language in the summit’s final communique, which will now set the path for alliance policy, comes a day after the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations issued a statement on human rights in China and Taiwan that Beijing said slandered its reputation.
“China’s stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security,” NATO leaders said in a communique after their summit.
Biden also told European allies the alliance’s mutual defense pact was a “sacred obligation” for the United States – a marked shift in tone from his predecessor Trump, who had threatened to withdraw from the alliance and accused Europeans of contributing too little to their own defense.
“I want all Europe to know that the United States is there,” said Biden. “NATO is critically important to us.”
Source_reuters.com
