ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the evolution of NATO’s policy toward China and outlines eight areas in which the Alliance can address China’s challenges going forward. For most of NATO’s seven decades, China was an afterthought. Only at NATO’s June 2022 Madrid summit did Alliance leaders agree that China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values,” even while affirming that Russia posed the “most significant and direct threat” to the Alliance. Since then, NATO has been working to address the challenges posed by China and the China–Russia entente. This chapter recommends ways the Alliance can design a policy toward China that focuses on competition and possible confrontation on the one hand and cooperation where possible on the other.
