Countering the security threat from the rise of China will be an important part of Nato’s future rationale, the alliance’s chief has said, marking a significant rethink of the western alliance’s objectives that reflects the US’s geostrategic pivot to Asia.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said that while China was not an “adversary”, it was having an impact on European security through its cyber capabilities, new technologies and long-range missiles. How to defend Nato allies from those threats will be “thoroughly” addressed in the alliance’s new doctrine for the coming decade, he said.
The military alliance has spent decades focused on countering Russia and, since 2001, terrorism. The focus on China comes amid a shift in US orientation away from Europe to a hegemonic conflict with Beijing.
Stoltenberg, who is set to step down next year after almost eight years at the helm of Nato, told the FT:
“Nato is an alliance of North America and Europe. But this region faces global challenges: terrorism, cyber but also the rise of China. So when it comes to strengthening our collective defence, that’s also about how to address the rise of China. What we can predict is that the rise of China will impact our security. It already has.”
Read a full transcript of Stoltenberg’s interview with FT’s Roula Khalaf and Henry Foy here.
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Plus, more Nato news: Russia has ordered Nato to close its liaison office in Moscow and recalled diplomats accredited to the western military alliance, the foreign ministry said yesterday.
Do you think Nato is right to pivot towards China? Email your thoughts to me emily.goldberg@ft.com. Thanks for reading FirstFT Asia. Here is the rest of today’s news. — Emily
Five more stories in the news
1. Momentum of Chinese economy slows China’s economic growth in the third quarter slumped to its slowest pace in a year, growing 4.9 per cent year on year between July and September, as a property slowdown and energy shortages highlighted rising pressure on policymakers.
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Go deeper: One of China’s weakest growth performances in more than a decade was not bad enough to deter President Xi Jinping from a range of policies that have prioritised longer-term structural changes over short-term growth.
2. Traders turn on yen as global energy crisis deepens Currency traders say the yen could be poised for further losses after the Japanese currency slumped to its lowest level against the dollar in three years, squeezed by the rising cost of the imported energy on which the world’s third-largest economy depends.
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Related read: European gas prices surged as much as 18 per cent yesterday as Gazprom hit supply hopes for the continent.
3. US regulator releases GameStop report Nearly 900,000 individual accounts traded shares of GameStop in a single day after a 90-fold increase at the height of the “meme stock” craze, according to a report by the US securities regulator.
4. Goldman Sachs granted full ownership of China securities venture The green light from China’s Securities Regulatory Commission will allow the Wall Street bank to expand in the country as Beijing eases restrictions on foreign companies in its finance industry. “This marks the start of a new chapter for our China business following a successful 17-year joint venture,” Goldman said in a memo to staff yesterday.
5. Former US secretary of state dies of Covid complications Colin Powell, who served as US secretary of state and was a high-ranking military leader, has died from Covid-19-related complications aged 84, his family said in a statement yesterday. Powell, who was fully vaccinated, was also suffering from the blood cancer multiple myeloma at the time of his death.
Coronavirus digest
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The rich have long been drawn to Singapore by its low taxes and stable rule of law, but the appeal has grown even more so during the pandemic.
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Valneva’s Covid-19 vaccine elicits a stronger immune response with far fewer side effects than the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, according to trial results.
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A sharp rise in the price of fuel is threatening the airline industry’s slow recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
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Scientists are tracking a descendant of the Delta coronavirus, which is responsible for a growing proportion of Covid-19 cases in the UK, and could be more infectious than the original Delta variant, they say.
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BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna will dominate the Covid-19 vaccine market next year, generating a massive $93.2bn in combined sales, according to forecasts.
The day ahead
Bitcoin ETF launches The first bitcoin-linked exchange trade fund is set to launch on the New York Stock Exchange today. ProShares fund will track the bitcoin futures market under the ticker “BITO”. (CNBC)
Russia hosts Afghanistan talks Officials from Russia, US, China and Pakistan will meet to discuss the situation in Afghanistan today, ahead of Russia’s talks with the Taliban this week. (Reuters)
Wm Morrison shareholder vote Shareholders will vote on the takeover offer by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice today. The company needs 75 per cent support for the CD&R deal to go through.
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What else we’re reading
Is the army of lockdown traders here to stay? With lockdowns lifted, the question confronting trading platforms such as Robinhood and ETrade in the US, or CMC Markets in London, is whether any of the historic surge in retail investor trading can outlast the coronavirus crisis. There are signs that the cohort of thrill-seeking traders have stepped back in recent months, analysts say.
The Great Indian IPO rush The Indian stock markets are witnessing an unprecedented boom, fuelled by an influx of new retail investors and optimism for the country’s economic recovery. That sent the benchmark BSE Sensex index to an all-time high of more than 60,000 points last week and opened up opportunities to Indian companies
The scandal that toppled Austria’s Sebastian Kurz The only thing quicker than the rise of Sebastian Kurz was his downfall, as state prosecutors investigate an allegation that taxpayers’ money was used to fund the former chancellor’s rise to power. No charges have been brought, but the allegations are explosive.
FT Executive MBA Ranking 2021 A French, a Chinese and a joint US-Hong Kong programme have held on to the three top spots in the FT’s 2021 Executive MBA Ranking, in a year marked by continued pandemic disruption to work and study. Read the rankings table in full and a summary of the data in charts.
Bangladesh PM: We need a global ‘climate prosperity plan’ Only a tiny fraction of global warming can be attributed to Bangladesh’s carbon emissions. Even so, the nation is committed to leading the path to a solution, writes Sheikh Hasina. “My country is investing for a zero-carbon future, but the world must commit at COP26 to make efforts like ours a success.”
With less than two weeks to go until the start of COP26 we would like to hear from our readers. Do you have a question for our environment correspondent Leslie Hook? Email your questions to firstft@ft.com and we will publish Leslie’s answers in the run-up to the summit in Glasgow.
Culture
The fashion on Succession is well worth paying attention to. It quietly mirrors the Roy family’s delicious drama, giving a nod to who’s up and who’s down at any given moment.
