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PacNet #50 – NATO’s Border with China

WASHINGTON – Last month, in an extraordinary first for NATO, China formally requested a regularized bilateral dialogue to discuss strategic perceptions, shared security threats, and NATO activities in countries at or near China’s border in Central Asia. All the more remarkable, this comes from a Beijing that only three short years ago excoriated "U.S.-led NATO" for its war against Yugoslavia (including the unfortunate and inadvertent bombing of the Chinese Embassy during the Belgrade campaign). Chinese officialdom has never been particularly supportive of American alliances around the world, viewing them as relics of the Cold War at best and threats to Chinese interests at worst.