NATO accused of ‘smearing and scapegoating’ China: What Beijing said about Mark Rutte's comment

China’s embassy in the United Kingdom on Wednesday stated that it strongly disagrees with NATO’s “smearing and scapegoating” of China.

This statement was a direct response to comments made earlier this week by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about Beijing’s military expansion, said Reuters.

China raps NATO’s ‘misperception’

A Chinese embassy spokesperson said in a statement that NATO should correct its "misperception" of China. The spokesperson also advised the military alliance to stop promoting its "security anxiety" and "using China as an excuse for its continued military build-up and disruption of global and regional security," Reuters reported.

Why did China release the statement?

On 9 June 2025, at an event held in London’s Chatham House, a think tank on International relations, Mark Rutte claimed that China is "modernising and expanding its military at breakneck speed" by working in collaboration with Russia, North Korea and Iran, according to his speech published on NATO's website.

“Russia is reconstituting its forces with Chinese technology, and producing more weapons faster than we thought,” Rutte said in his speech. “China is also building its nuclear arsenal as it aims to have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030,” he added.

Rutte points finger at Russia 

NATO is a military alliance between 32 countries in North America and Europe, which is currently headed by Mark Rutte.

The confrontation between China and NATO comes after Rutte openly addressed Russia's role in bringing war back to Europe. In his speech, he also mentioned China's involvement, claiming that it's fuelling Russia’s military power, which could prepare “Russia to use military force against NATO within five years”.