China unconvincingly defends Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, - Baerbok
At the meeting, the German federal government approved its first comprehensive strategy on China, which, among other things, called on Beijing to take a clearer stance on Russian aggression against Ukraine and warned against arms transfers to Russia.
The 64-page document was published on the website of the German Foreign Ministry, and some of its provisions were presented in Berlin by the head of the department, Annalena Baerbok, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.
The "foreign policy" section of the document, in particular, refers to China's relations with Russia, which, especially after the outbreak of a full-scale Russian aggressive war against Ukraine, "are of direct importance for Germany's security policy."
"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is a fundamental violation of the UN Charter. China unconvincingly defends Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity while supporting Russia's anti-NATO narrative. We continue our dialogue with China and urge it to clearly position itself against Russia's war of aggression," the document says.
It emphasizes that the permanent members of the UN Security Council have a special responsibility to uphold and protect the UN Charter. Germany expects China to back up its commitments to sovereignty, territorial integrity and the principles of the UN Charter with "concrete actions."
Closer arms cooperation between China and Russia, including the supply of Chinese weapons in the context of Russian aggression, "would have a direct impact" on relations between China and the EU and China and Germany, Berlin warned.
In this context, the German side recalled that in a joint declaration of February 4, 2022, China and Russia pledged to significantly intensify cooperation in all areas and condemned the prospect of further NATO expansion, claiming regional spheres of influence in their respective regions.
The German government also warned Beijing against attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, which is central to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
Berlin is increasingly perceiving China as a "geopolitically important security actor" whose behavior also affects Europe's security interests, the document says.
"For Germany, China remains a partner, a competitor, a systemic rival... China has changed, which is why we must also change the way we work with China," the foreign minister said during the presentation.
According to her, the priority of the strategy is the so-called "de-risking" - reducing risks, especially in terms of economic security. The politician added that Germany does not plan to limit cooperation with China on a large scale.
"We want to work with China because we need China, but China also needs us in Europe," the diplomat said.
At the same time, based on the lessons of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which demonstrated the fallacy of dependence on Russian energy, Germany will try to reduce its dependence on China, because "the more diverse the trade supply chains, the more resilient" Germany is.
Negotiations on a new "compass of action" for the world's second largest economy after the United States and one of the strongest military powers have been underway in the German government since the beginning of its work in late 2021.
