NATO and China: a mission too far?

Since the late 2010s, China has become a prominent issue on NATO’s agenda. NATO’s Strategic Concept, adopted in June 2022, was the first to reference China, noting that Beijing’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values.” Against this background, this article assesses NATO’s emerging position on China. It argues that NATO is constrained by continuing differences among the allies, NATO’s limited role in the Indo-Pacific, and the absence of a mandate or institutions to address economic and technological issues relevant to China. At the same time, the China question has become intertwined with the long-standing NATO burden-sharing debate. The United States and its European allies face difficult questions of whether and how they will be able to manage the combined burden of deterring Russia in Europe and China in the Indo-Pacific. How this debate plays out is likely to have a significant impact on NATO in the next decade and beyond.