Tuesday, December 21, 2021
First phone call as Chancellor
Xi hopes for pragmatism from Scholz
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is critical of China. Its head of state Xi Jinping therefore apparently hopes that Chancellor Olaf Scholz will determine China policy – and pragmatically. In a first phone call with Scholz, Xi rejects a “cold war mentality”.
In a telephone conversation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, China’s President Xi Jinping pleaded for pragmatic cooperation for mutual benefit. According to the state broadcaster CCTV, Xi advocated that regional problems should be resolved through dialogue and that a “Cold War mentality” should be resolutely rejected – which can be seen as an indication of the US’s strongly anti-China policy. Germany and China should also actively explore new fields of cooperation, for example in the field of renewable energies and the digital economy.
German companies are welcome to seize the opportunities that would result from the opening of China. Conversely, according to the report, Xi expressed the hope that Germany would offer a fair business environment for Chinese companies that wanted to invest in Germany. It was the first conversation between the two politicians since Scholz took office at the beginning of December.
Xi hopes for continuity in relation to Germany under the new Chancellor. China’s head of state stressed that both countries should “see each other’s development as an opportunity”. They should also preserve the “excellent tradition of high-level leadership,” the state media quoted the president as saying. The statement suggests that Xi Jinping hopes that Scholz, like Angela Merkel before, will continue to determine German China policy – and not the new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who has already been clearly critical of China.
Both sides should “stay on course,” said Xi. The cooperation between Germany and China was leading in the relationship between Europe and China. “We hope that the German side will continue to play a positive role in stabilizing relations between Germany and Europe and will continue to add stability and positive energy to the relationship,” the President was quoted as saying from the conversation with Scholz. Well-developed relationships are not only in the interests of both countries, but are also conducive to peace and stability in the world.