NATO needs to adhere to its geographic bounds and not exceed its alliance's authority by imposing its own rules and views on other states, which it has been doing since the conclusion of the Cold War, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Beijing was seeking to tighten its grip over critical infrastructure, supply chains, and the crucial industrial sectors of Western countries.

Meanwhile, Stoltenberg underlined that "authoritarian states" must be prevented from exploiting the West's weaknesses to conduct "subversive" activities.

"NATO has extended its collective defense clause to the domains of cyberspace and outer space, which should be handled by the UN and specialized international institutions," Zhao explained.

"It has also stepped up intervention across a full range of civil domains including climate change, infrastructure, technological innovation, supply chains, health, and energy," he added.

According to the Chinese diplomat, NATO, as a regional organization, "needs to stay within its geographical parameters and not attempt to impose rules that suit itself or seek to push or even cross the boundary."

The Foreign Ministry official also dismissed the allegations raised by Stoltenberg, saying Beijing establishing positive and equal cooperation with countries and enterprises in various regions, including NATO member states, has been beneficial for all sides.

In a hit back at the West, Zhao said bringing ideological differences and value systems and stirring up divide in economic cooperation will only bring about harmful consequences to the common interests of the international community while also "backfire[ing]".

This comes a day after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would not be making the same mistake with China as it did with Russia, stressing that Berlin was already bringing variety to its trade.

Scholz's statement came during an address at an economic forum organized by Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday.

This comes after representatives of German industry criticized a leaked document discussing Berlin's new China policy stating the need for increased political support for diversified trade with other countries.

The document pushes in favor of creating stronger trade ties with other countries and increased control over trade with China.

The document also advocated for increased dependency on 'stress tests' on raw material and monitoring for implications of the German investments on the environment and human rights issues.

The German Chancellor visited China earlier this month, marking the first visit by an EU leader to China since the COVID-19 breakout of 2019, making it also the first time Scholz visits China since he assumed office.

The Chancellor also stated that the importance of his recent visit to China was that both countries condemned the use of nuclear weapons, adding that Germany placed the new $100 billion euro budget into its defense industry after it saw it's vital that the country must build a strong military stock after the Ukraine war.

The visit marks the first visit by an EU leader to China since the COVID-19 breakout of 2019, making it also the first time Scholz visits China since he assumed office.

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