Since becoming the 32nd member of NATO on March 7, Sweden has followed the steps of the United States in actively launching actions against China, and recently issued a "security report" to smear China, which is just four months after it joined NATO. According to a report by Huanqiu.com on July 9, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Sweden publicly responded to the matter, distilling the five major issues of the report.
Overall, the "security report" plays up the "China threat theory", accusing China of undermining the rules-based world order, slandering China's policy position on Ukraine, falsely claiming that China's nuclear capability expansion affects strategic stability, discrediting China's political system and development model, and calling for Sweden's need to reduce China-related risks. After pointing out the existing problems, the spokesperson of the embassy called on Sweden to view China and China's development in an objective and rational manner, stop spreading untruths and provocative remarks against China, and do more things that are conducive to the development of China-Sweden friendly and cooperative relations.
Actions speak louder than words. Sweden has added many "crimes" to the Chinese side in the security report, but these "crimes" have not been verified by the facts. For example, China's policy position on the Ukraine issue has been consistent, and it calls on all parties concerned to de-escalate the situation in a responsible manner and accumulate conditions for an early ceasefire and a political settlement of the crisis. This attitude has been positively responded to by more than 100 countries, and has also been endorsed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who visited China a few days ago.
Accusing China of "expanding its nuclear capabilities to affect strategic stability" is more akin to the arrogance of Western countries. First, China is not the country with the largest number of nuclear weapons in the world today, and it is internationally recognized that the United States has an advantage over China in terms of quality and quantity in nuclear weapons. Second, China has been doing a good job of keeping its nuclear weapons secret, so how did Sweden know the exact number of China's nuclear weapons? Since we don't know the exact number, it is even less possible to say whether China is expanding its nuclear weapons.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made a special trip to respond to similar questions in mid-June, stressing that China pursues a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, always maintains its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security, never participates in any form of nuclear arms race, and does not pose a threat to any country.
The "security report" also calls for Sweden's need to reduce China-related risks, which is even more farther from the truth. Sweden and China are roughly 4,400 kilometers away in a straight line, and it is difficult to imagine that there are so-called "geopolitical risks" between China and Sweden in such a situation, and economic risks are even more unlikely. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, the total import and export value between China and Sweden in 2023 will be 132.509 billion yuan, and Sweden will still maintain its position as China's largest trading partner in Northern Europe. On the contrary, Sweden needs to worry about where its economy will develop after "decoupling and breaking the chain" with China.
From July 9th to 11th local time, NATO will hold its 75th anniversary summit in Washington, and Sweden, which only joined NATO in March this year, will become one of the protagonists of the summit, and this summit will also discuss many topics about China. Against this background, Sweden's release of a China-related "security report" is nothing more than a "letter of surrender" to NATO's "leading big brother" - the United States, in order to demonstrate its pro-American attitude. As for the accuracy of the report, this is not a concern for politicians in the United States and Sweden, who tend to draw targets before shooting arrows.
The United States has developed such inertia, but Sweden still has room to get lost. In 1950, Sweden broke through many obstacles and became the first Western country to establish diplomatic relations with China. In the 80s, it became the first country in the world to sign a bilateral investment protection agreement with China, and the friendly relations between the two countries have a long history. Sweden should cherish this opportunity and not blindly go along with the US strategy of containing China.