A few days ago, NATO issued a statement saying that Dutch Prime Minister Rutte will be appointed as the new NATO Secretary-General, and he will replace the current Secretary-General Stoltenberg on October 1, and Rutte has the support of all 32 NATO member states. The NATO Secretary General, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, and the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in Europe are the core officials of NATO, while the Netherlands is one of the founding members of NATO, and many of the previous NATO Secretaries General are from the Netherlands.
Rutte
Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Rutte has supported military aid to Ukraine, which is in line with NATO's strategic priorities, since 2022, the Netherlands has provided more than 3 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine, you know, the appointment of the NATO secretary general requires the unanimous consent of all 32 member states, and now Rutte has been agreed by all NATO countries, which also proves that its foreign policy is recognized by NATO members. It can be said that Rutte's top priority after taking office is still to continue to aid Ukraine, and Rutte has claimed that supporting Ukraine is conducive to the prosperity and security of Europe.
At the same time, Rutte is relatively friendly in his China policy, and during his tenure as Dutch prime minister, he visited China five times, which led to the steady and rapid development of relations between the two countries and promoted the deepening of Sino-Dutch cooperation in many fields. In March this year, Rutte visited China again, when he stressed that the Netherlands would not "decouple and break the chain" with China, because harming China's development interests would also hurt itself, and he also claimed to be an "old friend of the Chinese people", cherished friendly relations with China, and hoped to strengthen cooperation with China in foreign economic and trade cooperation, carbon emission reduction and other fields to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
Rutte's visit to China
You must know that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of an open and pragmatic comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and the Netherlands. Over the past decade, China has become the third largest trading partner of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands is also an important source of foreign investment and a destination for foreign investment in China. Previously, the United States forced the Netherlands to stop selling lithography machines to China, but the Dutch side repeatedly expressed its opposition and claimed to adhere to the foreign policy of opposition and independence, although in the end the Netherlands had to control China's lithography machines under the pressure of the United States, but Rutte also said that this is not what the Netherlands wants to see. In general, Rutte's China policy is relatively friendly, and now that he is NATO Secretary General, it remains to be seen whether Rutte and NATO's China policy will change.
In recent years, under the leadership of the United States, NATO has taken an increasingly hardline attitude toward China, not only targeting China on many international issues and wantonly sanctioning Chinese companies, but also attempting to interfere in the affairs of the Taiwan Strait. Not long ago, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg threatened China with a stop aiding Russia, otherwise it would cost China economically. In the face of these accusations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country clearly pointed out that the international community has its own opinion on what role NATO, as a product of the Cold War and the world's largest military bloc, has played in the Ukraine crisis. What NATO should do is self-reflection instead of arbitrarily smearing and attacking China.
Stoltenberg
On the other hand, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, there have also been obvious differences within NATO, and some countries have different positions on aiding Ukraine. At the same time, Ukraine has been applying to join NATO, although it has been rejected by the United States and NATO countries many times, but whether Ukraine can join NATO in the end is also a key choice for Rutte.
NATO headquarters
It can be seen that Rutte is facing an arduous task when he takes office at this critical moment, and how to properly handle the relations between Western countries and China is undoubtedly the top priority facing NATO at present. It can be said that China has always been willing to have good exchanges and communication with NATO, and China has never challenged the interests and security of NATO countries, so NATO should change its current attitude towards China and cooperate with China for mutual benefit and win-win results. It is hoped that after Rutte takes office, he can change the current perception of NATO countries towards China and play a mediating role, so that the relations between China and NATO countries can get back on track, which will not only benefit both sides, but also benefit the international community.