On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO member countries agreed to jointly counter China's growing influence and military power. At the same time, NATO members said in a joint statement following the first day of the summit in Vilnius that China's policy is a challenge to the interests, security and values of the alliance, but NATO remains open to interaction with China.
"The content of the communique related to China ignores the basic facts, arbitrarily distorts China's position and policy and deliberately discredits the PRC," the mission said in a statement, adding that Beijing "strongly opposes and rejects this."
China is determined to protect its sovereignty and security and will resolutely rebuff any NATO action that harms China's legitimate rights and interests, the statement read. The statement added that China also opposed NATO's expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The repeated statement in the communique that NATO is a 'nuclear alliance' will only further exacerbate regional tensions, and China is deeply concerned in this regard," the mission noted.
The NATO summit is taking place from July 11-12 in Vilnius, with Stoltenberg chairing the meeting. The summit agenda includes Ukraine's prospects for NATO membership and the issue of defense spending.