LONDON, December 19. /TASS/: The US fears that Russia and China could exchange strategies that seek to undermine NATO unity, US permanent representative to the alliance, Julianne Smith, said on Tuesday.
"They [Russia and China] are increasingly using common tools that should be of concern to NATO, the Financial Times quoted Smith as saying.
The US diplomat said she believes that Moscow and Beijing are "exchanging hybrid tactics", which creates such factors as risks to energy supplies and cybersecurity problems."
"There is no doubt that they are working to divide the partners in the transatlantic alliance. We are well aware of these attempts and intend to fight them," she said.
According to the Financial Times, the US is increasingly inciting other members of the alliance to toughen their positions toward China, explaining this by Beijing’s military research, threats to critical infrastructure of Western countries, for example, transport and energy networks, and China’s "unlimited partnership" with Russia.
Smith said the US doesn’t intend to shift the attention of NATO allies to the Asia-Pacific region, but only seeks to ensure a strong domestic defense policy of the alliance’s member countries.
Earlier, the US held consultations with alliance partners on China at the NATO summit in Bucharest in late November. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said then that Washington and its allies act on the assumption that they are currently in competition with China for the opportunity to determine the direction of the world’s further development, but don’t seek to engage in a conflict with Beijing or to abandon bilateral economic cooperation.
