China has urged Nato to “stop shifting blame” over the war in Ukraine after the western military alliance’s chief accused Beijing of worsening the conflict through support of Russia.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, on Monday called for China to face consequences for what US officials have called a major export push to rebuild Russia’s defence industry.
G7 foreign ministers have expressed “strong concern” about transfers of dual use materials and weapons components from Chinese businesses to Russia being used by Moscow for its military expansion.
On Tuesday, Beijing hit back, saying Nato “should engage in self-reflection rather than arbitrary smears and attacks on China”.
“We advise (Nato) to stop shifting blame and sowing discord, not add fuel to the fire and instigate confrontation, but rather do something practical for the political settlement of the crisis,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told journalists.
Domestically, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has framed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – which he describes as a special military operation – as a defensive move against an expanding Nato.
西方军事联盟北约秘书长指责北京通过支持俄罗斯加剧了乌克兰冲突，中国敦促北约“停止为乌克兰战争推卸责任”。
北约秘书长斯托尔滕贝格周一称中国要为美国官员所说的为俄罗斯重建国防工业而大力出口的行为承担后果。
七国集团外长对中国企业向俄罗斯提供军民两用材料和武器部件，用于俄罗斯的军事扩张表示“强烈关切”。
周二，北京予以反击，称北约“应该进行自我反省，而不是任意抹黑和攻击中国”。
中国外交部发言人林剑对记者表示：“我们建议（北约）停止推卸责任和挑拨离间，不要火上浇油、挑起对抗，而是为政治解决危机做些实事。”
在国内，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京将莫斯科对乌克兰的全面入侵 — — 他称之为一次特殊军事行动 — — 视为对不断扩张的北约防御举措。
