NATO criticizes China as a 'decisive enabler' of Russia's war in Ukraine, in its most scathing censure to date

"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 defence industrial base," a NATO communique said Wednesday, on the second day of the alliance's 75th anniversary summit in Washington.  

The coalition also called on Beijing to "cease all material and political support to Russia's war effort," specifically naming the transfer of "dual-use materials, such as weapons components, equipment, and raw materials that serve as inputs for Russia's defence sector" — NATO's first explicit accusation that Xi Jinping's administration is providing military aid to Moscow.

"It's the first time that NATO allies state this so clearly in an agreed-upon document," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a Wednesday speech. "It cannot continue like this without it impacting the interests and reputation of China."

NATO has been steadfast in its backing for non-member Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion, with many regarding Moscow as a possible threat to European security.

Beijing has previously denied selling arms to Russia throughout the Ukraine war, but the two countries have maintained close trading links throughout the crisis, even as Moscow becomes increasingly isolated or sanctioned by the West. According to a CNBC study from last year, Moscow was acquiring semiconductors and other advanced Western technologies through intermediaries like as China.

Beijing and Russia's close ally Belarus began joint military exercises earlier this week at a training location just miles from the Polish border, according to a Google-translated Telegram post by the Belarusian Defense Ministry. Belarusian land previously acted as a launchpad for Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

On the first anniversary of the Ukraine war in February 2023, China — which a month later successfully used its goodwill as a trade partner to broker a reconciliation between arch-enemies Iran and Saudi Arabia — proposed a peace framework for the dispute between Moscow and Kyiv. It, like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace plan and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's latest prerequisites for resuming diplomatic conversations, has yet to acquire traction.

Earlier this week, China was the third stop on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's international tour, where he unveiled his self-proclaimed "peace mission" to end the war in Ukraine. After touring Ukraine and Russia, Orban met with Xi in Beijing, describing China as a "key power" in resolving the conflict.

After years of velvet-gloved diplomacy and treating China as a distant concern, NATO said Wednesday that Beijing "continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security," emphasizing the alleged disinformation emanating from the world's second-largest economy and its space and cyberspace activities.

In March, NATO allies the United States and the United Kingdom accused China of conducting a years-long cyberespionage operation targeting politicians, businesses, and media. The tactics highlighted "China's continuous and brash efforts to undermine our nation's cybersecurity and target Americans and our innovation," FBI Director Christopher Wray stated at the time.

The Chinese embassy to the United Kingdom responded by condemning Britain's "sinister action." "The UK's claim that China was responsible for malicious cyber campaigns targeting the U.K. is completely unfounded and constitutes malicious slander," the statement read at the time.

NATO has voiced concern over China's purported nuclear ambitions.

"The PRC's nuclear arsenal is rapidly expanding and diversifying, with more warheads and a greater number of sophisticated delivery systems." "We urge the PRC to engage in strategic risk reduction discussions and promote stability through transparency," the NATO communique said, warning that allies are raising "shared awareness" while also strengthening preparations to protect against China's "coercive tactics and efforts to divide the Alliance."

According to the Federation of American Scientists, China had a total inventory of 500 warheads as of March, accounting for only 9% of Russia's arsenal, which has the most nuclear capability after inheriting the former Soviet Union's stocks.

"China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country," Hans Kristensen, associate senior fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, stated in June, when the institute released its annual publication examining global nuclear powers.

"The Chinese nuclear stockpile is projected to continue growing over the coming decade and the number of Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) is likely to reach or even exceed the numbers held by either the Russian Federation or the United States," SPRI reported in August.