Beijing reacted angrily to the statements of Foreign Minister Baerbock (Greens), who called Chinese President Xi a “dictator”. China accused Baerbock of “blatant political provocation”.
China has harshly criticized Federal Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) for calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Baerbock’s statements were “extremely absurd and a serious violation of China’s political honor and a clear political provocation.” Beijing is “deeply dissatisfied” and will make representations to the German side through diplomatic channels.
During his visit to the USA last week, the politician from the Green Party said the following about the war in Ukraine in an interview with the USA’s right-wing broadcaster Fox News:
Chancellor Scholz does not evaluate Baerbock’s statement
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) did not want to comment on the Foreign Minister’s statements. “In principle, the Chancellor does not evaluate statements made by his cabinet colleagues,” said Wolfgang Büchner, deputy government spokesman in Berlin. “It is clear that China is ruled by a communist one-party regime, and it is clear that this does not fit our ideas of democracy.”
Asked whether the Chancellor believed Baerbock’s statements had damaged relations with China, Büchner said: “I don’t want to speculate on that.”
China an important partner, according to government strategy document
In July, the federal government issued comprehensive guidelines for relations with China for the first time, agreeing to the China strategy after months of debate within the coalition. It aims to show a way Germany can further expand economic and political cooperation with the Asian superpower without jeopardizing its own values and interests. China is Germany’s most important trading partner.
China is not referred to as a “dictatorship” in the strategy document. “China’s strategy targets us primarily,” a State Department spokesman said. The People’s Republic remains a “partner, rival and systemic rival” for Germany.
The State Department spokesman claimed that Baerbock gave an interview to the right-wing broadcaster Fox News during his visit to the United States. The Federal Foreign Secretary’s visit was “clearly” about using “channels that can reach a population that would not be possible to reach, for example, with an interview in the New York Times”.
Source: ZDF
I am Timothy Glover, a professional journalist and content creator. I specialize in writing and editing for news websites, specifically covering politics. I have been working as an author at News Unrolled for the past five years and have built up a reputation for producing quality content that is both informative and engaging.
