MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. NATO is trying to root a negative image of China in the minds of citizens to talk about the threat posed by Beijing, the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a comment released on Friday.
"NATO step by step is trying to root a negative image of the Celestial Empire in the minds of the inhabitants so that to subsequently talk about the threat now coming to the West from Beijing," the diplomat said, commenting on the results of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
As Zakharova noted, NATO countries are already making efforts to create so-called "small geometry" coalitions in the Asia-Pacific region with their like-minded people.
"For example, AUKUS and QUAD. They want to stake out their strongholds in the region in order to subsequently impose their own rules through them. Another potential hotbed of tension is artificially created, its main task is to eliminate China, as well as Russia as the main geopolitical competitors. The Asia-Pacific countries see all this background and, so far, refrain from participating in the confrontational schemes of Washington and its satellites," she stressed.
The final statement by the participants of the alliance's summit, adopted on July 11 in Vilnius, pays a lot of attention to China. The document notes that NATO countries are concerned about the buildup of China's nuclear arsenal and, in their opinion, Beijing's insufficient efforts in the field of nuclear arms control. The statement also argues that deepening the strategic partnership between China and Russia is contrary to NATO's values and interests.