German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang had a joint press conference in Beijing on Friday. Baerbock warned of a “horror scenario” if Taiwan were destabilized, but Qin fired back, saying that China doesn’t need a “master teacher” from the West. The two countries have a one China policy, but Germany is concerned about the situation in the Taiwan Strait. Qin said that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China and that the world needs to respect that.
China has warned the US and other nations against forging diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which it sees as part of China. Germany criticized China for conducting war drills around Taiwan, expressing its displeasure over Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the US and meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Baerbock was also cryptic in her response to French President Macron’s stance on Taiwan, where he said that France will not be a “vassal” of the US when it comes to the East Asian nation.
Baerbock also made observations regarding Beijing’s global leader aspirations, saying that the world is watching which path China will take as it announces its intention to become a world power. Qin said that China will not use the old paths of Western colonialism, but will instead build a world in which humanity will find peace and security. He said that there should be mutual respect between China and Western nations.
