Trump calls U.S.-NATO relationship "ridiculous"

U.S. President Donald Trump said it is "ridiculous" for the United States to continue its "one-sided" relationship with NATO in a social media post on Thursday.

Trump noted that the relationship has not been reciprocal.

In an earlier post, the U.S. president said the United States spends far more on NATO than the bloc's any other members "without getting any benefit from so doing."

On the same day, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Der Spiegel that NATO's internal decisions are made through free consultation and consensus among all member states and are not dictated by any individual member, underlining that NATO is not about blind obedience.

Trump has repeatedly pressured European allies to increase military spending and accused NATO members of failing to meet the target spending on defense.

NATO members collectively agreed in June 2025 to raise annual defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035. However, the U.S. continues to advocate for a NATO built on "partnership rather than dependency," with Washington pushing for Europe to step up and assume primary responsibility for the alliance's conventional defense.

All countries should provide a fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday.

Mao made the remarks at a regular press briefing in Beijing in response to a media query about international business environment and relevant laws.

"The Chinese government has always required Chinese enterprises to carry out international cooperation in compliance with international rules, laws and regulations. At the same time, we believe that all countries should protect the normal investment and business activities of enterprises and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for that purpose," Mao said.