The Foreign Minister will hold political talks in China on Friday.
(Photo: dpa)
tianjin Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) landed in the port city of Tianjin on Thursday at the beginning of her trip to China. A total of six days of Baerbock’s visit to Asia begins there. After two days in China, we’re off to South Korea on Saturday and from there on to the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan.
On the trip, Baerbock meets an unusually large number of company representatives for her position. On the way to their first appointment, they informed business representatives about the situation on site. Baerbock first visits a German company that manufactures gearboxes for wind turbines. Later she attended a Chinese school that taught German as a foreign language. The most important political talks are scheduled for Friday in Beijing.
The Foreign Minister wants to get an idea of the country after three years of corona lockdown. In addition to China’s role in the Ukraine war, the focus will also be on the China strategy that the German government is currently preparing under the auspices of the Federal Foreign Office. “Partner, competitor, systemic rival – that is the compass of European China policy,” said Baerbock shortly before leaving Berlin. “In which direction the needle will swing in the future also depends on which path China chooses.”
Foreign Minister Qin Gang will pick up Baerbock from Tianjin on Friday morning, the port city is the birthplace of her counterpart. After a joint visit to the company, we take a special train to Beijing for further talks.
The Chinese government is clearly concerned about the foreign minister. In addition to the detailed meetings with her counterpart Qin Gang, she also has appointments with higher-ranking representatives of the state leadership and the Communist Party from a protocol point of view.
China is trying to get Baerbock
On Friday, for example, she briefly met Han Zheng, a member of the Politburo’s Standing Committee. On Saturday Baerbock meets Wang Yi, China’s top foreign politician.
The talks will also focus on China’s increasingly aggressive approach to Taiwan. Just before Baerbock’s trip, the Chinese military had practiced a comprehensive sea and air space blockade of the island for several days. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, although the country has never been part of the People’s Republic founded in 1949 and has its own democratically elected government and laws.
During her visit, she will also “underline the common European conviction that a unilateral change in the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and even more a military escalation would be unacceptable,” said Baerbock.
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