China hits back at NATO finger-pointing: “Unfounded accusations”

China’s top diplomat slammed “unfounded accusations” by NATO this week after alliance leaders rebuked Beijing for allegedly supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine.

China “will never accept” the NATO assertions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp in a Thursday call, a Chinese readout said.

Wang, who is serving his second stint as foreign minister, said China enjoyed “the best record in the world” on issues of peace and security. Differences in political systems and values between Beijing and NATO were no reason for the alliance to “instigate confrontation,” he said.

“NATO should know its place and refrain from interfering in Asia-Pacific affairs and China’s internal affairs, and not challenge China’s legitimate rights and interests,” Wang said.

NATO leaders gathering in Washington this week said Russia remained “the most significant and direct threat” to their collective security. “The People’s Republic of China‘s (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies continue to challenge our interests, security and values.”

“The PRC has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine through its so-called ‘no limits’ partnership and its large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base. This increases the threat Russia poses to its neighbors and to Euro-Atlantic security,” the declaration said in some of NATO’s strongest language yet.

The leaders called on Beijing “to cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort,” including “the transfer of dual-use materials, such as weapons components, equipment, and raw materials that serve as inputs for Russia’s defense sector.”

“The PRC cannot enable the largest war in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation,” the alliance said.

Earlier on Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said NATO had “no supporting evidence” for its claim that Beijing was aiding Moscow’s war effort, and that the Chinese government had not supplied arms to “any party to the conflict.”

“Right after the Ukraine crisis broke out, the U.S. falsely claimed that China was providing military support to Russia. To this day, the U.S. has not offered any substantial evidence,” he said.

“Statistics actually show that over 60 percent of Russia’s imported military components and dual-use items come from the U.S. and other Western countries, 95 percent of Russia’s key components destroyed by Ukraine come from the West, and 72 percent of Western parts of Russian-made weapons come from U.S. companies. How does the U.S. explain that?”

Wang’s call with Veldkamp comes two weeks after NATO announced the selection of Mark Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister, to be its next secretary general, with the role beginning in October.

The European Union and China find themselves in the middle of a brewing trade war, with one side imposing high tariffs and the other launching anti-dumping probes.

On relations with the Netherlands, Wang said he hoped the Dutch would “encourage Europe to take an objective and rational view of China.”

Veldkamp described China as a “global force” and the Netherlands’ main trade partner in Asia, according to Beijing’s readout.

NATO, the Dutch official said, “will forever remain a defensive organization.”

The Dutch Foreign Minister did not immediately respond to a written request for its readout of the call.