Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock received her counterpart Qin Gang in Berlin on Tuesday. © Michael Kappeler/dpa
During his visit to Berlin, China's foreign minister once again met a resolute Annalena Baerbock. Finance Minister Lindner, on the other hand, is still waiting for a meeting with his counterpart.
Munich/Berlin – There were contradictory signals that came from China on Monday. First, Beijing surprisingly announced that Foreign Minister Qin Gang would meet his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin the very next day. Baerbock, who was in China in April, had invited Qin for a return visit, it said. Just as surprising and no less short-term, another piece of news popped up a little later: China had canceled the visit to Beijing planned for Wednesday by Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner, allegedly for "scheduling reasons," as Lindner's ministry announced. The Chinese proposal to make up for the meeting with China's Finance Minister Liu Kun a few days later could not be addressed, it said.
The reasons for the cancellation of Lindner's visit are also the subject of lively speculation the day after. Has an employee in China's ministerial bureaucracy simply been sloppy with scheduling? Does Liu really have to go to a meeting with head of state Xi Jinping outside of Beijing, as was heard? Or is it a deliberate diplomatic affront, because Lindner has repeatedly expressed criticism of China's Russia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and human rights policy in the past, including more recent ones?
"Finance Minister Lindner is, of course, very welcome in China"
The latter interpretation is contradicted by the fact that Foreign Minister Qin Gang flew to Berlin on Tuesday afternoon, as announced, to Annalena Baerbock – who is also not suspected of being too China-friendly. Asked by a reporter if China had anything against Lindner, a smile flashed across Qin's face before declaring, "Mr. Finance Minister Lindner is of course very welcome here." The fact that the visit had to be postponed was only for "technical reasons" that should not be "overinterpreted".
Otherwise, Qin Gang had for Baerbock mainly well-known phrases in his luggage. At a joint press conference, he again called for a "political solution" to the Ukraine war, claiming that China was playing a "constructive role" in the conflict and was even a "guardian of world peace". However, Qin again did not demand that Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine; nor did he condemn Russian war crimes.
Annalena Baerbock, on the other hand, repeated a sentence by the South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, now precisely tailored to Beijing: "Neutrality means taking the side of the aggressor." When Beijing says that the principles of international law must be upheld, this naturally also applies to Ukraine. China, Baerbock said, "as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, can play a significant role in ending the war if it chooses to do so."
China's foreign minister warns Germany against economic decoupling
Referring to another world crisis, Qin said, "Taiwan falling back to China is part of the international order." Beijing regards the democratically governed island republic as a breakaway province. Baerbock, on the other hand, spoke of the fact that the situation in the Taiwan Strait also had a "security relevance" for Germany. Qin Gang also warned Germany against decoupling itself economically from China – in this way, the US was trying to plunge the world into a "new Cold War" economically, he criticized.
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There was only agreement on one point: that China and Germany must increase their efforts in the fight against climate change and for the preservation of biodiversity. Beijing has a "key role" to play in this, Baerbock stressed. She also praised the "newfound pace" in relations with China – Baerbock's Berlin talks with Qin Gang were the third meeting between the two ministers this year, following her visit to Beijing and a meeting at the Munich Security Conference in February.
China's espionage law causes unrest in Germany
Even before Baerbock and Qin appeared before the press in Berlin, Olaf Scholz had campaigned in Strasbourg for a common European approach to dealing with China. Speaking to the European Parliament on Tuesday morning, the Federal Chancellor said that the relationship with Beijing was aptly described as a triad of "partner, competitor and systemic rival" – although the latter two aspects had increased on the part of China.
The tightening of China's espionage law had recently caused unrest in parts of the German and European economy. In recent days, several international consulting firms have been targeted by the Chinese authorities on the basis of the new regulations. In an interview with Qin, Baerbock called for fair conditions for German companies in China.
China warns of EU sanctions
In turn, Beijing is displeased that Chinese companies could soon also be subject to EU sanctions because of their involvement in the Ukraine war. The affected companies are said to have supplied Russia with components that can also be used for military purposes. "We do not supply weapons to crisis countries or crisis regions," Qin Gang said in Berlin – and threatened a "strict reaction" in the event that the EU should actually decide on sanctions. The "normal economic exchange" between China and Russia must not be disrupted, Qin said.
"As you can see, there's still a lot to talk about," Baerbock said at the end of the press conference, before disappearing with Qin Gang for further talks. So there is plenty of material for the german-China intergovernmental consultations, which China's new Premier Li Qiang and his government are expected to attend in Berlin on June 20. Li is also likely to take his finance minister with him to Germany. It will be interesting to see what reception Christian Lindner will give him.