New escalation of diplomatic tensions between Germany and China. Beijing summoned Germany’s ambassador to China after Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called President Xi Jinping a “dictator”.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin confirmed to AFP that the German ambassador was “summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. [el domingo]Regarding the statements.
In an interview with US media outlet Fox News over the weekend, Baerbock asked the question: “If Putin won the war, what would that mean for other dictators in the world, like Xi, as well as the Chinese president? Therefore, Ukraine must win this war.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning expressed Beijing’s “deep displeasure” on Monday with the German foreign minister’s remarks, which he called “absolutely absurd” and assured that his country would protest through diplomatic channels.
Although they are important trading partners, ties between Berlin and Beijing have soured as some members of the German government, such as the Greens’ Baerbock, take a harder line on issues ranging from human rights to Taiwan. According to AFP, China recently summoned the German ambassador for the third time.
Following Beijing’s reaction, a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated this Monday that China is not a democracy. Asked about the chancellor’s position at a press conference in Berlin, spokesman Wolfgang Buchner said Scholz believes China is “ruled by a one-party communist regime.” “It is clear that this does not correspond to his idea of democracy,” he emphasized, although he emphasized that “the chancellor never comments on the statements of his cabinet colleagues.”
Journalists demanded to know whether the Social Democrat Scholz, known for a more contemporary attitude towards Beijing, shared the words of his foreign minister, who took a more critical course.
There is also growing concern in Berlin over potentially risky Chinese investment in the country and the heavy reliance of German companies on doing business in China.
Last June, US President Joe Biden also called the Chinese leader a “dictator”, words which the Asian country’s foreign ministry described at the time as “grossly irresponsible” and a “political provocation”.
Source: El Diario
