NATO allies have agreed for the first time to include the challenges and threats posed by China in a strategy plan at the last summit in Madrid this week. The previous alliance document, issued in 2010, made no reference to China. In its new Strategic Concept, NATO said addressing the “systemic challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China for Euro-Atlantic security” and “deepening the strategic partnership” between China and Russia would now be among its top priorities. Beijing was furious with NATO’s decision. “Who is questioning world security and undermining world peace? “Are there wars or conflicts all these years where NATO is not involved?” China’s mission to the EU said in a statement on Thursday. “NATO’s so-called Strategic Concept, full of Cold War thinking and ideological bias, is maliciously attacking and tarnishing China. “We are categorically opposed,” the statement said. “When it comes to actions that undermine China’s interests, we will provide firm and strong answers.” Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China has repeatedly pointed the finger at the United States and NATO. But NATO’s focus on Sino-Russian cooperation began before Moscow’s military operations in its neighbor. He has also spoken openly about China for some time. At its annual summit in Brussels last June, the traditionally Russia-centered military alliance argued, for the first time, that it needed to respond to Beijing’s growing power. The language used by the bloc at the time also echoed the EU’s phrase “systemic competitor” and “systemic competitor” of the United Kingdom when describing China. Beijing’s response was just as strong. Responding to a remark by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Sino-Russian military ties last year during a Brussels summit, a Foreign Ministry spokesman urged the alliance to “abandon the cold-blooded mentality” language similar to the one developed. this week. This week, NATO wanted to add a layer of nuance to its descriptions of Russia and China. “China is not our adversary, but we must be clear about the serious challenges it faces,” Stoltenberg said on Wednesday, adding that NATO was still “open to a constructive commitment” to Beijing. The language contrasts NATO’s view of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. “The Russian Federation is the most important and immediate threat to the security of the Allies and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area,” NATO’s Strategic Concept wrote, pledging to continue to respond to Russian threats and hostile actions in a united and responsible way “. However, the alliance was clearly wary of Beijing’s close ties with Moscow. “The deepening of the strategic partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation and their mutually reinforcing efforts to undermine the rule-based international order run counter to our values ​​and interests,” the plan said. It is not immediately clear what the talk of China in its latest strategy means operationally for NATO. “We know there will be more cooperation with the EU in areas of Chinese policy in which the EU has more experience, such as resilience and economic coercion,” said Maya Nuwens of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), based in London. He added: “The idea is that the Alliance will work with existing and new partners in the Indo-Pacific. “But we do not know which new partners NATO is looking at – perhaps some countries in Southeast Asia or India.” Some experts urged NATO to set up a “China Council” to coordinate NATO policies on China, but this was not discussed this week in Madrid. In recent days, there have been reports that France and Germany have opposed the labeling of China as a “threat”, as it could jeopardize Europe’s interests in trade and technology. “It is interesting that after three years of talks on China and an agreement on the challenges it poses to the alliance, the allies still do not fully agree on how to frame this debate and how to respond,” Nouwens said.