On Thursday, October 17th, a delegation of Chinese National People’s Congress representatives in Brussels made a controversial statement that “NATO should not exist,” shocking European elected officials and creating a tense atmosphere at the meeting. European Parliament representatives criticized the Chinese representatives’ statement as absurd.
According to the European media outlet Euractiv, this was the first face-to-face dialogue in seven years between the official Chinese delegation and the China delegation of the European Parliament, lasting for a lengthy three hours.
Earlier this year, Beijing lifted sanctions on current and former members of the European Parliament in an attempt to improve relations with the European Union. However, instead of thawing diplomatic relations, the meeting intensified tensions. A Chinese NPC representative openly questioned the legitimacy of the NATO organization, taking the attendees by surprise.
Engin Eroglu, the leader of the European Parliament delegation and a liberal German MEP, stated that he had never seen anyone openly question the existence of NATO before. He remarked, “From the Chinese perspective, NATO has lost its relevance after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Given Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine and Eastern European countries, I find China’s stance extremely absurd.”
NATO is a military alliance with collective defense at its core, established in the early stages of the Cold War to counter potential threats from the Soviet Union. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO bolstered its defense along the eastern flank, leading Finland and Sweden to abandon their longstanding neutral policies and join NATO. Although NATO did not engage in direct combat, it provided weapons, intelligence, and training to Ukraine, triggering a strong backlash from Russia.
In 2022, NATO for the first time categorized China under the Chinese Communist Party as a “systemic challenge” in its Strategic Concept, due to its military modernization, cyber threats, and cooperation with Russia.
The Chinese representative at the meeting repeatedly echoed Russia’s narrative regarding NATO’s role in the conflict in Ukraine, which left the parliament members feeling “shocked.”
European Parliament Member Markéta Gregorová expressed on social media that there was no reason to believe that dialogue with China could continue.
During the meeting, Slovak right-wing European Parliament member Miriam Lexmann raised concerns about China’s poor human rights records in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong, accusing China of suppressing local cultures, religions, and political freedoms. However, the Chinese representatives avoided addressing these issues.
“This is not a dialogue at all,” said Lexmann. “They are not responding to our questions.”
European Parliament members also criticized China’s decision to impose export controls on rare earth minerals, essential for many modern technologies.
This meeting took place after Beijing attempted to rebuild relations with the European Parliament, and both sides plan to hold similar meetings next year.