China’s foreign ministry issued a stern warning to NATO on Thursday, urging the alliance not to bring “chaos” into Asia. This comes after NATO labeled Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war on Ukraine, accusing the alliance of prioritizing its security at the expense of other nations.
Amidst increasing cooperation between NATO and US allies in the Pacific—particularly Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines—China’s foreign ministry pushed back against NATO’s actions. Washington and its allies have accused China of circumventing arms controls by shipping “dual use” goods that have both civilian and military applications. In return, China benefits from heavily discounted Russian oil and gas, a critical asset for its currently fragile economy.
Domestically, Beijing has signaled not to expect any major economic interventions at the upcoming Third Party Plenum scheduled for July 15-18. These closed-door meetings are historically significant, with past leaders like Deng Xiaoping using them to announce transformative policies, such as the “Opening and Reform” policy in 1978.
However, experts at Eurasia Group predict that Xi Jinping will not announce any major policy shifts during this session. Instead, the focus is expected to be on language aimed at boosting consumer confidence, which has been shaken by the ongoing debt crisis, rather than on introducing decisive new policies.
