JOKER’S WILD: NATO TO CHALLENGE CHINA

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general, said in an interview published Monday that the organization will work to figure out the best way to counter China’s new military technologies and cyber capabilities while insisting that Beijing is no “adversary.”
He told the Financial Times that the region faces a wide range of issues over the next decade, but said the organization predicts that “the rise of China will impact our security.”
“It already has,” he said.
President Joe Biden has said he made it his business not to let China overtake the U.S. during his administration. (See “BIDEN RAMPS UP PRESSURE ON CHINA,” “U.S.-CHINA FACEOFF: EUROPE TAKING SIDES,” “NATO LEADERS SIDE WITH BIDEN, DECLARE CHINA A GLOBAL SECURITY CHALLENGE,” and “CHINA TASK FORCE: U.S. APPROACH BEIJING.”)
To show how much the world has pivoted toward China, NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept did not mention China, according to the FT. He said the organization does not look at Russia and China as separate threats because they “work closely together.” 
“This whole idea of distinguishing so much between China, Russia, either the Asia-Pacific or Europe—it is one big security environment and we have to address it all together. What we do on readiness, on technology, on cyber, on resilience matters for all these threats…You don’t put a label,” he said.
TREND FORECAST: Again, as we continue to note, the U.S. and NATO could not win a minor war in Afghanistan, there is no way they will be a military threat to China. 
And as for NATO taking a tough stand against China, that is pure bullshit: “It’s the economy, stupid.” As we have continually reported, the business of business is business and from manufacturing, private equity groups, hedge funds to banksters… China is the prime global marketplace for economic growth and investment. Thus the U.S./NATO talk about challenging China are merely empty words that will not be followed by military deeds.