Foreign minister-designate Annalena Baerbock had called for a tougher course towards China in an interview. The Chinese embassy in Berlin reacts.
Berlin – After foreign minister-designate Annalena Baerbock was critical of China, the Chinese embassy in Berlin warned against a confrontation course between the two countries.
“What we need are bridge builders instead of wall builders,” wrote an embassy spokeswoman in a statement on an interview by the “taz” with Baerbock. In it, the Green politician spoke out in favor of a tougher course towards China.
The embassy spokeswoman wrote that “some people”, with a view to Sino-European and Sino-German relations, increasingly brought differences and differences to the fore and spoke of “systemic competition”. “I hope that individual German politicians will look at China and the Sino-German relations objectively and holistically, actively respect China’s core interests and main concerns and devote more of their energy to promoting practical cooperation between the two sides in various areas.”
China is ready to expand common interests with the new federal government “on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit”.
Not “glossing over or hushing up” things
In the interview, Baerbock argued that grievances in China should be clearly addressed. “Talking silence is not a form of diplomacy in the long run, even if it has been seen that way by some in recent years,” she said. Dialogue is a central component of international politics. “But that doesn’t mean that you have to gloss over things or keep quiet.” A value-based foreign policy must always be an interplay of dialogue and rigor.
Specifically, Baerbock brought an import ban for products from the Chinese region of Xinjiang into play and did not rule out a boycott of the Winter Olympics in China. The Chinese leadership is accused of massive human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. dpa
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