NATO looks for reassurance from US, Chinese FM takes center stage

World Today

The U.S. sent a more reassuring signals to Europe about the future of NATO.

Meanwhile China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi took center stage at the Munich Security Conference.

CGTN’s Guy Henderson reports.
Follow Guy Henderson on Twitter @guyhendersonde

A month ago, president-elect Donald Trump branded NATO “obsolete.” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ language here sounds very different.

“President Trump came into office and has thrown his full support, now, to NATO. He too espouses NATO’s need to adapt to today’s strategic situation to remain credible, capable and relevant,” Mattis said.

It’s the second time this week that a senior American official appears to have shifted away from a foreign policy promise made during the election campaign.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is heading back to Washington after a guarded meeting with his Russian counterpart in Bonn. Sergey Lavrov left for Munich, where he’ll speak on Saturday. It now appears to be Moscow that’s receiving mixed messages, while its western neighbors seem a little less nervous.

Meanwhile China spoke of shared values and offered up its growing global influence to mend U.S.-Russian ties.


Sourabh Gupta discusses the Munich Conference and G-20

For the latest coming out of the Munich Security Conference and what was discussed at the G-20 Foreign Minister Summit, CGTN’s Mike Walter spoke to Sourabh Gupta, senior Asia-Pacific international relations policy specialist for the Institute for China-American studies.