The Foreign Minister wants to present the finished China strategy to the public on Thursday.
(Photo: IMAGO/photothek)
Berlin For the first time, Germany has presented its own strategy for dealing with China. According to information from government circles, the federal cabinet passed the China strategy on Thursday. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) will describe the new China policy at an event at the Berlin China think tank Merics.
The National Security Strategy, which is regarded as the overarching document of the China Strategy, strikes a new tone towards the People’s Republic for the first time in a document and thus reflects the official position of the Federal Government. It states that China is a partner, competitor and systemic rival. The addition that follows is crucial: “We see that the elements of rivalry and competition have increased in recent years.”
Unlike the National Security Strategy, the cabinet is not presenting the China strategy together. In addition to the presentation of Baerbock, the paper should only be presented by government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in the regular government press conference.
In addition to Baerbock, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (all SPD) as well as Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) were also represented at the press conference for the National Security Strategy in June.
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The strategy is important not only for Germany, but also for China. Representatives of the Chinese government had repeatedly persuaded the federal government in the past few months that the paper should not be too confrontational and, above all, should emphasize the cooperation between the two countries. In an interview with the Handelsblatt, China’s ambassador in Berlin, Wu Ken, called a first leaked draft of the strategy “guided by ideology”.
After the leak, the federal government continued further negotiations in strict secrecy.
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