Chinese Regime Repeats That NATO Is ‘Brain Dead’ in Attempt at Retaliation

A CF-18 Hornet from the Canadian Air Task Force Lithuania flies beside two Portuguese F-16 Fighting Falcons over Lithuania for the NATO Baltic Air Policing Block 36 mission during Operation Reassurance on Sept. 15, 2014. Canadian Armed Forces

Two days after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) declared Beijing a “systemic challenge” to the rules-based international order, China’s state-run media on June 16 repeated prior remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron calling the alliance “brain dead.”

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) mouthpiece CCTV published an article on Wednesday criticizing NATO for being stuck in “rigid and backward thinking” as the regime pushed back on an official communiqué signed by the leaders of 30 countries naming China as a top concern of the military alliance.

“China is not an Atlantic country,” the state mouthpiece argued, trying to proclaim that China is only an “imaginary enemy” of NATO because its China is not located in the North Atlantic while ignoring the CCP’s expansion and interference in NATO member countries as seen through its Arctic ambitions and Belt and Road Initiative.

This is the latest attempt by Beijing to slander NATO and the Group of Seven (G-7) in recent days after both multilateral meetings agreed to recognize China—which is ruled by the CCP—as a challenge to the founding values of the alliance. NATO said these values are based in individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law—values which many would argue are contrary to the communist ideals underlying both the Soviet Russian and Communist Chinese regimes.

NATO released its most recent communiqué on June 14, in which its 30 member countries wrote: “China’s stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security.”

Explaining the “systemic challenges,” the communiqué listed China’s “rapidly expanding” nuclear arsenal, the ruling regime’s military modernization and “publicly declared military-civil fusion strategy,” militarily cooperation with Russia, and a “frequent lack of transparency and use of disinformation.”

NATO called on China’s leaders “to uphold its international commitments and to act responsibly in the international system, including in the space, cyber, and maritime domains, in keeping with its role as a major power.”

This is the first time that NATO has clearly named the Chinese regime as an adversary.

On June 13, G-7 leaders also for the first time condemned Beijing for its human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, its unfair trade practices, and demanded a thorough investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The concerted action saw Beijing express its disapproval using its state mouthpieces CCTV and the Global Times, which published a series of articles to slander NATO and G-7 in the past three days.

Zhao Lijian, spokesman of Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry, also slandered the United States on June 15 as “sick, very sick” as the regime blamed Washington for convincing other member states to confront China’s ambitions.

A soldier wearing a mask gestures outside the Forbidden City in Beijing on Oct. 22, 2020. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

CCTV commented on June 14 that the G-7 countries “are playing within a small friends group,” who “only takes care of the group’s interests.” The report didn’t mention how G-7 countries have helped developing countries in history and the recent commitments by member states to help meet COVID-19 vaccine demand in developing countries.

Global Times published an article on June 15, in which it urged NATO member states to separate from the United States because of its hegemony at NATO.

‘Important Progress’

China experts independent of the CCP welcomed the communiqués, saying that they accurately represented the CCP’s actions that have caused damage to many countries and the international community. This is something that Beijing doesn’t want others to realize, they warned.

“The communiqués really hit on the points that the Chinese Communist Party regime doesn’t want to be discussed. It made the CCP lose its sanity and behave like a loose cannon,” Chen Kuide, editor-in-chief of Princeton-based magazine China In Perspective, told The Epoch Times in a phone interview on June 15.

Prof. Feng Chongyi, a China expert at the University of Technology, Sydney, in Australia, told The Epoch Times, “The G-7 and NATO listed the series of threats from the CCP in their communiqués … This amounts to announcing that a global alliance has been formed against the CCP ... it is important progress.”

Feng explained that the fundamental purpose of NATO is against communism’s tyranny and provocation, which not only harms the people living in communist countries but also damages the free world.

“The communiqués’ clearly discussions about the CCP means that these democracies have realized the risks and danger that the CCP presents to the world,” Feng said. “Finally, they have acknowledged that the CCP is threatening the democratic system, the values of democracy and freedom, and the entire liberal international order.”

Doong Sy-chi, deputy chief executive of Taipei-based Taiwan Thinktank, also praised the communiqués in a phone interview with The Epoch Times.

“The communiqués listed the threats from Beijing from which we can see that these democracies have a deep understanding of the CCP,” Doong said on June 15.

Restrain China’s Militarization

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Navy, a RIM-7P NATO Sea Sparrow Missile launches the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during a stream raid shoot exercise in the Pacific Ocean, on Aug. 13, 2007. Jordon R. Beesley/U.S. Navy via Getty Images

Both Feng and Doong said they believe the statements from NATO and the G-7 are to prevent the regime in China from taking further military adventures.

“They want to stop the CCP trying to claim Taiwan by force, and restrain the CCP’s ongoing militarization in the South China Sea,” Feng said.

“NATO and G-7 are warning the CCP to stop its expansion,” Doong said. “We see that the CCP has also expanded its influence by investing in other countries’ infrastructure and using vaccine diplomacy.”

Chen added, “The CCP’s comments on the communiqués completely disregard basic diplomatic etiquette, having been made by a regime without a conscience.”

He said he doesn’t believe the CCP will retaliate against NATO and G-7 with any solid action.

Luo Ya contributed to this report.