NATO hosted the seventh military staff talks with China on February 23 at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
Director General of the NATO International Military Staff (IMS) Lieutenant General Janusz Adamczak and the Director of the IMS Cooperative Security Division Lieutenant General Francesco Diella met with the Chinese delegation led by Major General Yao Qin.
According to the NATO statement, the two sides discussed the global security situation, with special emphasis on Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine; maritime security; NATO’s new Strategic Concept; and China’s military modernization.
NATO International Military Staff Director General Lieutenant General Adamczak noted that using this forum for regular dialogue can be mutually beneficial.
During the meeting, Adamczak highlighted that “NATO is a defensive Alliance,” and the “new Strategic Concept makes clear that China’s stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security, and values, but that we remain open to constructive engagement, including to build reciprocal transparency, with a view to safeguarding the Alliance’s security interests.”
Lieutenant General Diella recalled NATO’s military interaction with China in the form of military-to-military staff talks following clear political guidance. NATO and China conducted military dialogue since 2010, however, the dialogue was interrupted in 2016 due to the Chinese armed forces reforms and the terror attacks in Brussels, and in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After interruptions in talks, the two sides have now resumed dialogues under the pre-agreed annual format between NATO and Chinese military officials.
