China raises alarm over eastward NATO ‘expansion’

China on Wednesday raised concerns about an eastward “expansion” of NATO as the alliance concludes its annual summit in Lithuania and appears to be moving closer to adding new members.

The country’s diplomatic mission to NATO in Brussels responded to a joint communique from NATO criticizing China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies,” accusing NATO of having a “bad history” and “meddling in affairs beyond its borders.”

China vowed to “resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests, and it resolutely opposes NATO’s eastward expansion into the Asia-Pacific.”

NATO said Beijing’s policies challenge its interests, security and values, but the alliance is still open to “constructive engagement” with China.

The Chinese diplomatic mission said the NATO statement was “filled with Cold War mentality and ideological bias.”

“This fully exposes NATO’s hypocrisy and its ambition of seeking expansion and hegemony,” it said.

NATO most recently expanded with the addition of Finland, and it is set to add Sweden after Turkey agreed to Stockholm’s admittance this week. Both countries had been outside NATO but shifted their positions amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday that the alliance is creating a simpler path for Ukraine to join. Ukraine formally applied for membership in NATO in the fall in light of the invasion.

Stoltenberg called for increased support and relations between NATO and Ukraine, a council to work with Ukraine and the removal of a procedural step for it to join the alliance. But he would not give a firm timetable on when Ukraine would officially become a member.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the plan because of its lack of a set timeline on membership for his country, arguing it would only embolden Russia in its invasion.

President Biden said in an interview with CNN that aired Sunday that Ukraine is not “ready” for being a member of NATO and signaled it would need to wait until after the war with Russia had ended.

China and Russia have both expressed concerns about an eastward expansion of NATO.

The Associated Press contributed.

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