German Chancellor tries to persuade Xi of his “special responsibility” and to reconsider his close alliance with Moscow
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be this Friday in China for a visit very short – he will barely stay 11 hours in that country – but of a high standard risk political and also economic, which aroused concern among his people partner government and large-scale International.
Scholz, in power for less than a year, will be the first leader of the European Union (EU) by visiting the People’s Republic of China since 2019. It does not do so as a “representative” of the EU, government sources have indicated, even if it does “as a European“and determined to” probe “President Xi Jinping.
The Berlin Executive insisted on marking the differences between this trip and those that the previous foreign minister made to the Asian giant practically every year, Angela Merkelusually accompanied by a large delegation of businessmen and investors.
These are not “business as usual” times, government sources insisted in a previous meeting with the media. the “brutal assault from Russia to Ukraine “broke the fundamental principles of the HEwhile growing in the international community the fear to climb Taiwan.
A straight for Scholz
Scholz trusts to persuade Xi to assume his “special responsibility” as a member of the Security Council of the UN and does not behave as a “close ally” of Moscow. Nothing “can go on as before”, not only politically, but also economically and in commercial relations with a country that cannot be “released” from globalizationaccording to Berlin.
The German Chancellor will travel with a small delegation from entrepreneurs involved in “segments very concrete “. China It is the largest exporting power in the world, in full extension of its domain through operations such as the controversial participation in a terminal of the port of hamburg. The German executive has finally authorized the entry of the Chinese state company Cosco for 24.9%ensuring that this guarantees it will not be able to exercise a “strategic influence” on a critical infrastructure.
Both partner of the social democratic government of Scholz, Greens and Liberals, had criticized the operation, which also comes as the war in Ukraine has highlighted the vulnerability critical infrastructure. Berlin had to to reduce in an accelerated way energy dependence of Russia inherited by Scholz and his associates from previous governments, both Social Democrats Gerhard Schröder like conservative Merkel.
worried about the visit
To the fears within the tripartite government are added those of the great international allies, France and United States of America, pillars of German foreign policy since the time of the founding chancellor Konrad Adenauer. “Nobody told us: don’t go”, the government source refuted, on condition of anonymity, in relation to these French or American perplexities, to affirm that “obviously” these partners will be informed conveniently from the results of the trip.
As for Beijing, the German foreign minister, the green Annalena Baerbockseems to be more in tune with Paris or Washington with respect to the chancellor himself. On his recent business trip to Uzbekistanthe head of diplomacy marked the distances in this regard and was ratified in its defense of a “more critical” line towards China and taking into account the situation of the human rights. from different oenez was collected with indignation Scholz’s visit to Beijing. Not just for the usual violations human rights or repression Uighursbut also from the moment chosen to do it, shortly after Xi have been insured for a new mandate.
The criticism has also spread in the media businessto which they went from eager to expand their investments in the Asian country to warn the dangers of excessive exposure a interests Chinese from German companies. From the reign of expertsthe Institute for German Economic Studies (IW) warned on the eve of the trip that Germany has become employee economically from China until it becomes “blackmailable“and considered Scholz’s visit a” worrying sign “
