ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the various options open to NATO as it seeks to devise a China policy, both in the run-up to the publication of its new Strategic Concept and over the longer term. A common argument concerning NATO’s relationship with China is that the Alliance is ill-equipped to deal with the Chinese challenge because Europeans can only make a small contribution to the US military effort in East Asia. An intermediate option would be to integrate the ‘China factor’ into NATO’s military planning. Setting aside military issues, the question arises of whether NATO’s response to the effects of Chinese influence should primarily be political. The most promising political avenue for NATO could lie in strengthening its cooperation with the EU. For NATO, addressing the Chinese challenge will mean facing the inherent tension between a military alliance and a political alliance, between a regional identity and a global approach to threats and risks.
