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US President Joe Biden, center, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, pose for a photo with other heads of NATO member states at the NATO headquarters on Monday. (AP/Yonhap News)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance comprising 30 countries in Europe and North America, issued a summit communique Monday characterizing China as presenting "systemic challenges" that allies will need to respond to.

In a communique issued after a North Atlantic Council meeting in Brussels that day, the NATO leaders said, "China's stated ambitions and assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security."

"We are concerned by those coercive policies which stand in contrast to the fundamental values enshrined in the Washington Treaty [which forms the basis for NATO]," they continued.

In particular, they noted that China was rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and delivery systems, while "cooperating militarily with Russia, including through participation in Russian exercises in the Euro-Atlantic area."

"We remain concerned with China's frequent lack of transparency and use of disinformation," the NATO leaders said.

"We call on China to uphold its international commitments and to act responsibly in the international system, including in the space, cyber, and maritime domains, in keeping with its role as a major power," they added.

In the past, NATO has chiefly served as a Western military alliance responding to threats posed by Russia. This marks the first time one of its communiques has singled out China as a "challenge."

A previous declaration at the 2019 summit referred to China's growing influence as "present[ing] both opportunities and challenges."

Reuters described the latest communique as a diplomatic victory for US President Joe Biden, who has been pushing to reinforce a united front against China with allies.

In the communique, the leaders noted that NATO had been adapting to a changing security environment, explaining that they had agreed to invite the NATO Secretary General to "lead the process to develop the next Strategic Concept." They added that this new Strategic Concept would be agreed upon at the next summit in summer 2022.

In connection with this, the White House explained that NATO's new Strategic Concept would "guide the Alliance's approach to the evolving strategic environment, which includes Russia's aggressive policies and actions; challenges posed by the People's Republic of China to our collective security, prosperity, and values; and transnational threats such as terrorism, cyber threats, and climate change."

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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