[Source: BBC]
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested that China use its influence with Russia to avoid war in Ukraine, talks with President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Scholz said the two countries agreed that Russia’s nuclear threats are “irresponsible and very dangerous. “
The Chinese president refused to condemn Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
But he said the global network deserves attempts to end the crisis peacefully and oppose the use or risk of using nuclear weapons, according to Chinese reports.
In reporting on the two leaders’ findings, China’s Foreign Ministry did not cite President Xi as the words “irresponsible” or “very dangerous. “
The considerations sparked in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, after the Chinese leader recently consolidated his grip on power.
Scholz’s to China is brief, just 11 a. m. , and controversial.
He is the first Western leader in Beijing since the global pandemic and the first to meet with President Xi since he tightened his grip on force at the Communist Party’s National Congress last month.
Many in Europe consider the timing highly questionable, adding members of Mr. S. S. ‘s government’s own government. S. Scholz, who feared that his presence would serve to repair the national reputation of an authoritarian of Mr. Xi.
But the German chancellor, like her predecessor Angela Merkel, argues that global unrest can be solved through cooperation with China. The face-to-face meeting, he said, facilitated discussion, including on unrest in which the two countries strongly disagree.
There was mutual popularity that times were difficult; President Xi expressed his preference for combined paints in “times of replacement and upheaval. “
There was an agreement to keep talking: about the war in Ukraine, global food and energy security, climate change and the global pandemic.
Scholz reiterated Germany’s position on Taiwan – any replacement in the prestige quo will have to be non-violent and mutually agreed – and on human rights – they will have to be protected, especially with regard to minorities in Xinjiang.
It will be very followed in European capitals.
Scholz went so far as to force promises of a values-based foreign policy and a change in the system from Germany to China; A commitment he reiterated before his visit. “If China replaces, our technique will have to replace,” he said.
But many in Germany and Europe simply do not accept as true with him about this; in part because of a recent, and debatable, proposal to sell a stake in the port of Hamburg to a Chinese company.
Six of his ministers opposed the deal and security suggested caution, but Scholz would have forced a deal, even if it reduced the duration and influence of the bet. The suspicion in Berlin was that he was looking for a “gift” to bring to China.
And Scholz opted to do so with a delegation of executives from German corporations such as BASF, Volkswagen and Bayer.
“The signal sent is that we need to expand and accentuate our economic cooperation,” said a Green politician, whose party has long sought a tougher stance on China.
Hiring executives is not an unusual practice for Mr Scholz, Angela Merkel, who pursued a policy of “change through trade”, believing that economic ties can influence political relations with countries such as China and Russia.
But Germany’s dependence on Russia’s reasonable power has exposed the inherent flaws in this strategy. And China, once a partner, is now also seen as a rival to Berlin.
And when President Xi on Friday called for “deeper cooperation” with Berlin, a chill ran down the spine of those who fear German affairs are too closely tied to China. What would happen, they ask, if China invaded Taiwan?
More than one million German jobs in this relationship.
Take, for example, auto giant Daimler, which sells more than a third of its cars in China. During the first part of this year, German corporations invested more than ever in the country; Chemical company BASF has just opened a new factory in southern China and plans to invest 10 billion euros (£8. 75 billion) by the end of this decade.
Few in Berlin would urge Germany to “dissociate” itself from China. As one business leader said on the eve of Mr. Scholz: “The recommendation can only be not to break Chinese porcelain now. “too much dependence.
And Mr Scholz has a delicate balancing act to make. Protect the German economy without risking being accused (there were some in recent months) of putting German business interests above all others.
Scholz’s reaction to a China in the process of conversion could stop his foreign ministry’s litmus test.
Hiring executives is not an unusual practice for Mr Scholz, Angela Merkel, who pursued a policy of “change through trade”, believing that economic ties can influence political relations with countries such as China and Russia.
But Germany’s dependence on Russia’s reasonable power has exposed the inherent flaws in this strategy. And China, once a partner, is now also seen as a rival to Berlin.
And when President Xi on Friday called for “deeper cooperation” with Berlin, a chill ran down the spine of those who fear German affairs are too closely tied to China. What would happen, they ask, if China invaded Taiwan?
More than one million German jobs in this relationship.
Take, for example, auto giant Daimler, which sells more than a third of its cars in China. In the first part of this year, German corporations invested more than ever in the country; Chemical company BASF has just opened a new plant in southern China and plans to invest 10 billion euros (£8. 75 billion) by the end of this decade.
Few in Berlin would urge Germany to “dissociate” itself from China. As one business leader said on the eve of Mr. Scholz: “The recommendation can only be not to break Chinese porcelain now. “too much dependence.
And Mr Scholz has a delicate balancing act to make. Protect the German economy without risking being accused (there were some in recent months) of putting German business interests above all others.
Scholz’s reaction to a China in the process of conversion could stop his foreign ministry’s litmus test.