NATO officials are discussing taking action to reclaim some Chinese-owned infrastructure projects in Europe in the event of a wider conflict with Russia in the east of the continent, three officials involved in the talks told CNN.
A decade ago, as Europe struggled to emerge from the economic crisis caused by the global financial meltdown, the promise of infrastructure funding from Chinese-owned investment companies seemed like a great “windfall”, according to CNN.
Now, with the biggest ground war in Europe since World War II and Western warnings that Beijing is aiding Russia in the war, Nato countries see these investments as a “liability” and the allies have begun discussing ways to buy back some of these projects, officials said.
According to one US official, there are fears that Beijing could use its infrastructure in Europe to provide material support to Russia if the conflict escalates. The goal is to find a way forward well in advance of any potential conflict, the officials said.
Discussions at an early stage
The discussions also show that the NATO alliance is increasingly focused on China. The People’s Republic of China was strongly targeted in a joint statement issued by 32 heads of state and government at the 75th anniversary summit in Washington last Wednesday.
Discussions on infrastructure measures are still in the early stages, according to three officials involved, with varying levels of commitment among NATO members. One NATO diplomat said the United States, which is leading the talks, should continue the discussions bilaterally to ensure the necessary support.
From railways linking Eastern Europe to China to ports in the North and Baltic Seas, China has financed tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which European countries signed up to in 2013.
Infrastructure to be nationalised in case of war
A NATO official said that if war broke out, infrastructure ‘would almost certainly be nationalised or nations would temporarily take operational control under emergency security measures’. China could then take the confiscating countries to court, he said.
US officials believe that moves by European countries to force Russia to sell its assets after the Ukraine war have set a precedent for such takeovers or sales. For more than a year, Finland had repeatedly blocked the operation of the Helsinki Shipyard, a maker of icebreaking ships once owned by a Russian company, until Russia sold it to a Canada-based organisation in late 2023.
A senior US official said the talks had expanded beyond low-tech to include high-tech areas such as quantum computing, semiconductors and telecommunications infrastructure.
Blinken signals Pacific alliance against China
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the war in Ukraine may be the reason why European and Asian countries have realised that their security depends on each other.
“Japanese Prime Minister Kishida said that what happens in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow, and perhaps that was crystallised in Ukraine. When Russia renewed its aggression against Ukraine, Japan stood up, South Korea stood up, Australia stood up, New Zealand stood up, reflecting a recognition that these problems are interconnected,” Blinken said.
France reluctant to use NATO against China
While most NATO members have expressed some level of concern about China’s infrastructure, two officials involved in the discussions told CNN that France in particular has tried to shift the infrastructure debate to the European Union, which has authority over other economic issues.
According to the officials, tensions with France and other countries have influenced the language of the statement, with countries arguing that NATO is not the best platform to challenge China.
But many member states have a very real fear that Beijing could use these assets against the alliance in the future and continue to push for the alliance to defend against this threat, according to CNN.
