G7, NATO Summits in Confrontation with Russia- Op-ed

Recently, Europe has witnessed the convening of two successive summits: the first is the G7 summit which was held in Germany's Bavaria, and the second is the NATO summit which was held in Madrid, Spain.

The first summit devoted a large part of it to the war in Ukraine, and how to expand the scope of sanctions imposed on Russia; Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden revealed during the summit that the group launched a massive program of investments in developing countries, worth $600 billion, and aims to respond to large-scale projects funded by China.

"Together, the G7 will announce a ban on Russian gold, the main source of export, which will deprive Russia of billions of dollars," US President Joe Biden tweeted.

The U.S also seeks to raise $600 billion by 2027 for global investments in infrastructure. Biden stressed that this program is based on “shared values” such as “transparency” as well as respect for workers’ rights, the environment and gender equality. Neither Biden nor the other leaders mentioned China by name, but they clearly alluded to it.

On her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen considered that the partner countries of the West "have a choice" to go to democracies instead of Beijing to develop electricity networks or medical infrastructure.

The West wants to be distinguished from China, which has invested heavily in many developing countries, to build infrastructure through the so-called "New Silk Roads" program or to ensure access to some raw materials.

As for the second summit, it also supported Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, and classified Russia as "the biggest and direct threat to the security of allies." The outcome document denounced the "deep strategic partnership" between Beijing and Moscow and "their mutual attempts to destabilize the world order."

The alliance expressed its concern about the increasing Russian and Chinese influence on its southern flank, especially in Africa, warning of the danger of destabilizing these regions.

The NATO Summit dealt with "Threats and Challenges in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the member states had specifically addressed the issue of "Russia and China's pursuit of political, economic and military progress in the south" of the NATO countries.

"There is an iron curtain that the U.S. wants to impose between Russia and Western countries," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference in Minsk with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei. "The reality is that the Iron Curtain is in the process of being established."

Recalling the famous phrase of Winston Churchill, who was referring to the separation of the European continent between capitalist countries and the Soviet bloc, which led to the Cold War. Lavrov added: "Let them (Westerners) be careful and do not get stuck (their fingers) in the process underway."

There is also an unusual arms race that will reach some Western countries, such as Germany, as Chancellor Olaf Schulz pledged to make the German army the strongest conventional army in Europe, in a break with the policy of curbing military spending that the country has pursued for more than thirty years.

Moreover, China was not spared the condemnation of the two summits, which made the Chinese Foreign Ministry respond to the strategic roadmap of the alliance "a challenge to its interests and that this alleged document on a strategic concept of NATO is not related to reality and presents the facts in the opposite way in demonizing China's foreign policy."

Despite the deterrent policies to resist Chinese expansion, the latter was able to intelligently and successfully understand globalization and fall into its bases. It says to any country that deals with it that any economic success achieved by one country does not mean the necessity of the failure of the other, within the framework of the “friend-enemy” binary, but in the framework of a “win-win” situation.

This is the secret of China's success today, and it began feeding this success with military alliances that U.S. strategists never imagined, which complicates the policy of American-Western containment of Chinese expansion in the world.

In the African continent, for example, China does not only build roads, but forms friendships and military alliances, and depends there on investment in building social and human capital.

A study conducted by the "McKinsey Agency" indicates that more than 1,000 Chinese companies are currently operating in Africa, and some The sources talk about 2,500 companies, 90% of which are private companies.

Finally, It is no secret to strategic observers that the military presence in Africa. China has already sent two naval battleships to the Horn of Africa, specifically to Djibouti, where it has a military and logistical base there, and more than 400 soldiers are present at this base to secure navigation routes in the Horn of Africa at the level of the Gulf of Aden.

Contributed by Tarek Refaat