The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sent a warning to the United States of “possible nuclear war” if Ukraine is allowed to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
China sent the message to America via the CCP-controlled propaganda outlet Global Times.
The communist dictatorship warns that drawing the 30-member NATO alliance into Ukraine’s conflict with Russia could have devastating global consequences.
The news comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested that his nation join NATO last week.
In a Sunday editorial in the state-owned newspaper, Beijing warned that allowing the country into the alliance would lead to an inevitable escalation in the conflict.
The move would prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to follow through on his threats to use nuclear arms against the West, the paper notes.
However, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan stated in a White House press briefing last week that NATO should delay talks on allowing the country into the alliance.
While unlikely, the newspaper warned that “all European countries will tremble under the shadow of a possible nuclear war” should it take place.
The CCP also called for the Western alliance to withdraw from its longstanding involvement in Eastern Europe.
“In that case, there will be no security for anyone, not for Ukraine, and not for the world,” the newspaper wrote.
“Instead of pursuing resolutions to end the conflict, Washington has, over and over again, displayed that the US is charging toward the other direction—fanning the flames of war.”
The editorial comes amid a series of comments by traditional Russian allies like India and the Chechen Republic expressing misgivings either over the war or the prospect of deploying nuclear weapons in the conflict.
In recent weeks, Putin has publicly acknowledged China itself has expressed some concern with the direction of the war as the two countries have sought to align themselves as a bulwark against the West.
The editorial comes amid a tumultuous week in the conflict in which Putin delivered a nationally televised address declaring the country would be annexing four occupied territories along the Russia-Ukraine border.
The move marks another escalation in Russia’s nearly eight-month long campaign in Ukraine amid nationwide protests over the country’s newly instituted conscription policy.
