China deplores NATO’s summit declaration

China on Thursday strongly deplored and firmly opposed the Washington summit declaration of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the previous day, calling it a product of the Cold War mentality that is full of belligerent rhetoric, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. "Its paragraphs on China contain a load of biases, smears and provocations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing in response to a relevant query, adding that Beijing has lodged a "serious protest" to the NATO. In the joint declaration adopted on Wednesday, NATO leaders accused China of becoming "a decisive enabler of Russia's war against Ukraine," which "increases the threat Russia poses to its neighbors and to Euro-Atlantic security." The leaders of the 32-member states also criticized that "China continues to challenge our interests, security and values," according to the declaration. Lin said the NATO has been spreading disinformation created by the US and blatantly smearing China to undermine China's relations with Europe and hamper China-Europe cooperation. "On Ukraine, NATO insists that China is responsible. We urge NATO to reflect on the root causes of the crisis and NATO's own behavior, listen to the voice for good from the international community and contribute to de-escalation, instead of shifting blames onto others," the spokesman said. Lin also refuted NATO's deepening engagement with Asia-Pacific partners, saying, "NATO's reach into the Asia-Pacific, strengthening of its military and security ties with China's neighboring countries and US allies, and collaboration with the US to implement the Indo-Pacific Strategy harm China's interests and disrupt peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. Source: Kuwait News Agency