"Western leaders have had enough": Suspicion of China's support for Russia discussed at NATO, G7, and European Council meetings in Brussels yesterday -- China Boss update 3.25.22
Update
What happened.
European, U.S. and Japanese leaders met in Brussels yesterday for an intense round of discussions at NATO, G7 and European Council meetings - all in the same day.
Ahead of the talks, Politico's Stuart Lau had reported that "suspicion about China's position” in backing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “runs so deep that it [would] be a topic in all three meetings.”
He turned out to be right as the news on Friday revealed that leaders “zeroed in on fears” that China could become “an enabler of the Kremlin.”
At a meeting of NATO heads of state and government in Brussels on Thursday, the leaders zeroed in on fears that China could increasingly act as an enabler of the Kremlin — through arms, trade lifelines and disinformation — just as the West wants to batter Russia with sanctions and undercut its offensive in Ukraine with weapons deliveries.
“Almost all” of the 30 national leaders spoke about China, according to a senior official with knowledge of the extraordinary summit.
One diplomat told Lau that there is, at present, “an unusually strong emphasis on China in a primarily European crisis.” “The fact that Chinese propaganda keeps asking for NATO’s dismantling even after the Russian war broke out certainly doesn’t help,” the official said.
Why it matters in geopolitics.
Wang Yi’s surprise visit to India
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to China Boss News to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.