NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday (23 September 2022) discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“I called on China to use its influence on Russia to end its war in Ukraine”, the Secretary General said, adding that he also raised NATO’s concerns on human rights and China’s military activity near Taiwan. “We stand ready to continue our dialogue on global security”, he said.
NATO’s new Strategic Concept, adopted by Allied leaders at the Madrid Summit in June states that China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values.”. It also stresses that NATO Allies “remain open to constructive engagement with the People Republic of China, including to build reciprocal transparency, with a view to safeguarding the Alliance’s security interests.”
The Secretary General and the Chinese Foreign Minister last met in person in the margins of the Munich Security Conference in 2020. The two leaders also met virtually in September 2021 for talks on NATO-China relations and international security challenges.