Strengthening its language on China, the transatlantic alliance said the deepening strategic partnership between Russia and China is "a cause for profound concern."
Last year, in the Vilnius Communique adopted at the summit in Lithuania, NATO had said the deepening strategic partnership ran "counter to our values and interests."
In a news conference after Wednesday's meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Chinese support for Russia is not just a temporary arrangement but a "major strategic shift."
Stoltenberg highlighted how all 32 of NATO's members had agreed to the wording and that this marked the first time that the body representing 50% of the world economy had defined China's responsibility in the war so clearly.
Such actions cannot continue without affecting China's interests and reputation, he warned.
In the declaration, NATO said China "has become a decisive enabler of Russia's war against Ukraine through its so-called 'no limits' partnership and its large-scale support for Russia's defence industrial base."
It pointed to the transfer of dual-use materials, such as weapons components, equipment and raw materials that serve as inputs for Russia's defense sector.
The Sino-Russian partnership increases the danger that Moscow poses to its neighbors and to Euro-Atlantic security, it said, describing China as part of the "threat" to the alliance. Until last year, China was described with such phrases as "systemic challenges."
This signals a significant shift in the debate among allies. When NATO met in Vilnius last summer, there was a major divide over where the alliance's geographical boundaries should end and who its partners should be. Wary of antagonizing China, French President Emmanuel Macron openly opposed creating a NATO office in Tokyo, any mention of which was removed from the communique.
Ivo Daalder, CEO of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, said that this year's declaration was "a hard-fought compromise" on language. "What we are seeing is a growing realization that China's support for Russia is a threat to NATO and therefore will carry increasing risk of consequences," the former U.S. ambassador to the alliance told Nikkei Asia.
The declaration called on China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to cease all material and political support for Russia's war effort.
It said NATO remains open to constructive engagement with China, "including to build reciprocal transparency with the view of safeguarding the alliance's security interests."
A spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the European Union lashed out at the NATO statement, saying that "the China-related paragraphs are provocative with obvious lies and smears," in comments posted on the mission's website.
"China's position on Ukraine is open and aboveboard. We aim to promote peace talks and seek political settlement," the spokesperson said, while implying that NATO is the one "adding fuel to the fire."
"Instead of scapegoating others, NATO should reflect on itself, take real actions to defuse the situation and solve the problem."
Meanwhile, the alliance issued the "NATO Industrial Capacity Expansion Pledge" on Wednesday, laying out ways to boost defense industrial cooperation across the Euro-Atlantic region.
As part of this, NATO will enhance cooperation with partners, including those in the Indo-Pacific. It will engage in "focused dialogue" with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and others toward this end.