After a long discussion, the traffic light government wants to decide on its guidelines for dealing with China. Protest from Beijing seems programmed. Although many details should be known there.
After a long and sometimes controversial discussion, the Federal Cabinet will today adopt the eagerly awaited German China strategy. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) then wants to present and discuss the principles of future German China policy at the Merics China Institute in Berlin. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit is expected to comment on the cabinet decision at the routine government press conference.
In contrast to the presentation of the national security strategy for Germany in mid-June, the federal government is not presenting the China strategy on a large scale. The security strategy was publicly presented by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) together with four ministers. In addition to the Chancellor and Baerbock, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) were also on the podium.
Rivalry and competition have increased
China is already described as a partner, competitor and systemic rival in the National Security Strategy, in line with formulations at EU level. “We see that elements of rivalry and competition have increased in recent years,” the document said. What this means should now be spelled out in the China strategy.
On Wednesday, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Baerbock announced that the strategy should send out the message “that we want to live in peace and freedom together with all our partners in the world, with all countries in the world – and that we are not naive at the same time”. One-sided dependencies must be reduced as a lesson from the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
Different accents compared to Beijing
In the federal government there are different accents in China policy. The Greens, with Baerbock and Economics Minister Robert Habeck, advocate a tougher course than Chancellor Scholz. This was most recently shown in the participation of the Chinese state-owned company Cosco in a container terminal in the port of Hamburg, which came about against resistance from the Greens.
In addition to the restrictions on freedom and human rights and the treatment of minorities in China, Germany is particularly concerned about the country’s aspirations to become a great power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Taiwan is likely to play a role
China’s threats to invade the island’s democratic republic of Taiwan are likely to play a role in the new China strategy. During her visit to China in mid-April, Baerbock called a military escalation around Taiwan, which is claimed by China, a “horror scenario” for the world. 50 percent of global trade passed through the Taiwan Straits.
At the same time, Baerbock reaffirmed the one-China policy, according to which Beijing is recognized as China’s only legitimate government and no diplomatic relations are maintained with Taiwan. But a violent change in the status quo was unacceptable, she said at the time.
Beijing criticized security strategy
The German security strategy had already met with clear criticism in China. Building international relations “by regarding others as competitors, rivals or even adversaries, and turning normal cooperation into security and political issues will only push our world into a whirlpool of division and confrontation,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
Even after the presentation of the China strategy, there should be criticism from Beijing. Many points are probably already known there – the federal government has repeatedly made its opinion on dealing with China clear in the past few months.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
