Facts

• China's diplomatic mission in Brussels on Wednesday expressed concerns over any potential eastward expansion of NATO, vowing to resolutely oppose it to safeguard its national interests.
• China's state-run media also hit back at the alliance, suggesting that the wars and conflicts involving NATO members indicate that the bloc is a threat to global peace and stability.
• This comes as the Atlantic Alliance wrapped up its summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, a day after issuing a joint communique that criticized Beijing's ambitions and policies while stressing its openness to "constructive engagement" with the PRC.
• NATO accused Beijing and Moscow of colluding to challenge the so-called rules-based international order — prompting the Chinese Foreign Ministry to say that the PRC-Russia relationship is based on the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting.
• The two-day summit was also attended by Asia-Pacific leaders — Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea — indicating that NATO fears that the Ukraine War may encourage what it characterized as autocratic nations to take offensive actions in the Pacific.
• The four Pacific countries were also invited to last year's summit in Madrid, Spain. The alliance earlier this year revealed plans to open a Tokyo liaison office — it's first in Asia — however, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed in May that Japan has no plans to become a NATO member.