/ world today news/ China, as the EU has already defined it, is a partner, competitor and systemic rival. Which element in this triad will be decisive in the future “also depends on which path China chooses,” Berbock said. One does not need to be a diplomat to understand that such a background was not the most constructive for the beginning of a meeting at the highest state level.
Almost since her appointment as German foreign minister, Analena Berbock has been seen in Beijing as a hostile hardliner. Therefore, her trip to China is viewed through the prism of her previous statements. And not only from the Chinese comrades.
Colleagues from “traffic light” coalition in Berlin (the name is given according to the party colors of the participants: SPD, SFDP, Greens. – note ed.) sincerely hoped that with their ambiguous statements, combined with Burbock’s feminist pathos, at least this time he would not turn the landlords against yourself during the visit.
For example, last summer, during a trip to New York, when asked about Taiwan, the head of the German Foreign Ministry replied that Germany does not accept, “when international law is violated and a larger neighbor invades a smaller neighbor in violation of the norms of international law,” referring to the Russian special operation. And for some reason, she added: “This, of course, also applies to China.” which created a huge problem for her own country, almost immediately.
Beijing predictably reacted angrily to the comparison with Ukraine. It didn’t help that Burbock later emphasized that he was not questioning the policy of “One China”.
To further complicate matters, French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited China shortly before Burbock, warned of a “big risk” that Europe would be “entangled in crises we have nothing to do with, preventing us from building our strategic autonomy” regarding the Taiwan issue. Europe, according to the French leader, should neither follow the “American rhythm”, nor to adapt to “China’s overreaction”, but instead to position itself as the third pole between the two superpowers.
Macron, Xi Jinping, Biden
Although the German government declined to comment on Macron’s remarks, Berbock said before leaving that he would underline the common European belief “that a unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and, of course, a military escalation would be unacceptable.”
China, as the EU has already defined it, is a partner, competitor and systemic rival. Which element in this triad will be decisive in the future “also depends on which path China takes,” Berbock said.
Analena Berbok
One does not need to be a diplomat to understand that such a background was not the most constructive for the beginning of a meeting at the highest state level.
But despite this, the Chinese comrades gave Foreign Minister Analena Berbock an unusually friendly welcome last Thursday.
The program of the visit of the head of the German Foreign Ministry was highly symbolic: only after getting off the plane in Tianjin after a ten-hour flight, Berbock, as part of the “green” program of his native party, immediately went to inspect the production of turbines for wind farms and plant for electric drive units for cars.
The German foreign minister then decided to teach democracy to the students of a Chinese special school with in-depth study of the German language, saying that one of the members of the German delegation was also a member of the opposition party CDU/CSU, which had been in power for 16 years, and then lost it as a result of the next election.
Chin Gan
Giving Berbock the opportunity to bring the light of European democracy to a far eastern country reeling under the heel of communist authoritarianism, her Chinese counterpart Chin Gan personally traveled to the port city of Tianjin to pick up the German foreign minister from her first stop.
In total, it took him 6 hours to consider all the details during a meeting with the “green” politician. But at the press conference that followed, which lasted almost an hour, Burbock made it clear that she was not impressed by the Chinese appeal.
Many around the world, Berbock said, are wondering how China will use its growing influence. “Europe linked its own rise 150 years ago to expansionism, aggression and colonialism”, recalled the foreign minister. That is why so many people listen carefully when China declares that it will become a world power by 2049. It will also determine “how far we Europeans will be able to develop economic ties with China in the future”.
Foreign Minister Qin Gan, who is also known as a hardliner, emphasized the importance of the partnership with Germany in his opening remarks. He then used the ensuing question time for a speech that lasted several minutes. ” What China needs least of all are Western teachers “, said angrily the foreign minister of the country, a long-time former semi-colony of Western powers that actively sold opium to the Chinese people under the muzzles of battleships.
Both sides have made clear their different positions on China’s behavior toward Taiwan.
„ Conflicts should only be resolved peacefully Foreign Minister Berbok warned his counterpart in Beijing.
He, not in the least embarrassed by the pressure and enthusiasm of the former trampoline player, reiterated China’s official position that Taiwan belongs to China and no one should interfere in China’s internal affairs. The rise in tensions in the region, according to China, is caused by separatist forces actively supported by “foreign countries”.
Berbock also raised the issue of the unfair treatment of German companies in the People’s Republic, which was reported to her by German business representatives the day before. German businessmen tactfully remained silent on whether the problems of German business in China were related to the difficulties experienced in Germany by manufacturers and operators of telecommunications equipment from the PRC, as well as Chinese shareholders in the port of Hamburg.
Berbock also touched on the sensitive issue of human rights for China.
She expressed her concern that the space for civil society participation in China is increasingly narrowing and human rights are being violated. “What this means for the Uyghurs is documented in black and white in the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,” emphasized the politician from the Green Party.
China has been accused of serious human rights abuses against the Uyghur ethnic group, which lives mainly in China’s western Xinjiang region. Burbock said Germany would be happy if the report’s recommendations to improve the situation were also implemented.
However, Qing Gan again angrily rejected Western teachings, stating that each country had its own circumstances, as well as cultural and historical backgrounds. As far as human rights are concerned, “there are no uniform standards in the world”, said the minister, rejecting Berbock’s appeal to the UN Charter and the UN Convention on Human Rights, calling for us to look at the world without rose-colored glasses.
The conflict in Ukraine was a particularly sensitive topic at the press conference. Berbock praised Beijing for its commitment to finding a peaceful solution, but feigned surprise that “China’s position does not yet include an appeal to the aggressor Russia to stop the war”.
Qin parried the blows, saying China does not supply weapons to “warring countries” and has no intention of doing so in the future. Supplies of so-called dual-use goods, which can also be used for military purposes, are considered to comply with Chinese law.
Vote in the UN General Assembly on a resolution condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine
Burbock’s other sneaky blow was the announcement of Chinese Defense Minister Qi Shanfu’s visit to Moscow this Sunday. Well, the apotheosis of the manifestation of the Heavenly Empire’s true attitude towards the “anti-Chinese” minister was the arrest of the Chinese human rights activist Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yang when they were on their way to the EU delegation to meet Berbok.
The German media were quite unanimous in their assessment of the visit: although the Western position was expressed by Analena Berbock, and the concerns of the Euro-Atlantic community were conveyed to the Chinese partners, it is unlikely to change anything radically in the behavior of the celestial empire.
Perhaps the only thing that can be added to Burbock’s asset is the reiterated firm promise by the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry not to supply arms to the parties to the conflict in Ukraine. Which no one was going to deliver to anyone anyway.
Translation: EU
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