Outrage over Baerbock’s statement
China summons German ambassador
September 18, 2023, 6:24 p.m
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Because Annalena Baerbock described Chinese President Xi as a dictator, Beijing invited the German ambassador to appear – not for the first time in recent times. The Foreign Minister herself only briefly commented on China’s criticism.
Out of anger over statements made by Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the Chinese government summoned the German ambassador. This was announced by a spokesman for the Foreign Office in Berlin. Ambassador Patricia Flor was summoned in connection with Baerbock’s description of Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “dictator”.
Meanwhile, Baerbock responded calmly to Chinese criticism. When asked whether she had already received an official protest from Beijing and how she would react, the Green politician replied on the sidelines of UN Week in New York: “I have taken note of it.” Even when asked, Baerbock did not want to comment in more detail.
China had rejected Baerbock’s characterization of Xi as a dictator as a political provocation. “The German side’s statements are extremely absurd, seriously insult China’s political dignity and are an open political provocation,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in Beijing. China contradicts what the German side said and has contacted Germany about it through diplomatic channels.
Baerbock: “Freedom and democracy must win”
Baerbock commented on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine in an interview with the US television channel Fox News on September 14th during her trip to Texas. Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, she said at the time: “If Putin were to win this war, what kind of sign would that be for other dictators in the world, like Xi, like the Chinese president?” The Green politician added: “That’s why Ukraine must win this war. Freedom and democracy must win.”
Summoning an ambassador as an act of diplomatic protest is not unusual in German-Chinese relations. This last happened on the occasion of Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger’s visit to Taiwan in the spring and after a foreign minister’s statement on Taiwan by the G7 group of states in August 2022.
US President Joe Biden has also described Xi Jinping as a “dictator” in the past, most recently in June. The communist leadership in Beijing also reacted indignantly and called it a provocation.