China cancels Lindner’s visit at short notice

Status: 08.05.2023 4:02 p.m

Finance Minister Lindner cannot travel to China this week as planned. Beijing wants to postpone the talks for “schedule reasons”. At the same time, Foreign Minister Baerbock will receive her Chinese counterpart in Berlin on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner has to cancel his trip to Beijing planned for this week. The Chinese Ministry of Finance asked at the weekend to postpone the talks between the two ministers planned for May 10 due to scheduling reasons, the Federal Ministry of Finance said.

The visit was originally intended to prepare for the German-Chinese government consultations and a high-level financial dialogue. Lindner wanted to connect the talks in China with a meeting of the G7 finance ministers in Japan. According to the Ministry of Finance, the Chinese side offered an alternative date for the return journey from Japan. “The minister could not be available for such an extraordinarily short-term postponement,” said Berlin. The meeting in Beijing is said to be rescheduled at a later date.

Stark-Watzinger’s visit to Taiwan is the first by a German government official since 1997.
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Is Beijing upset over criticism?

It is unclear whether the cancellation is also related to China’s relationship with Lindner and its FDP. In March, the liberal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger traveled to Taiwan, causing displeasure in Beijing. Lindner himself recently criticized China’s position on the Russian war against Ukraine and also advocated openly addressing human rights issues. “It is speculation whether the rejection has anything to do with the FDP’s position that Germany must appear self-confident towards Beijing,” the Ministry of Finance said. In any case, the position will not change as a result of the postponement.

The cancellation should remind Lindner of his trip to Asia in the summer of 2019. At that time he had first met with opposition figures in Hong Kong. After that, the Chinese side also canceled appointments in Beijing at short notice for scheduling reasons. In a frosty conversation, he was refused a handshake, Lindner later reported. “If norms of politeness are no longer valued, we can also speak plain language,” he told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Accordingly, there was an open exchange.

Federal Foreign Minister Baerbock again called on China to use its influence on Russia.
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Chinese Foreign Minister in Berlin

Irrespective of this, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will receive her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Berlin on Tuesday. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the Foreign Office. A government spokesman said he had an appointment with the foreign policy adviser in the Chancellery on Wednesday. China is currently trying to position itself as a mediator in international conflicts, including the Ukraine war. According to the Federal Foreign Office, the talks should therefore also deal with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

At the same time, the talks are intended to prepare for the German-Chinese intergovernmental consultations on June 20, to which the new Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang has been invited. A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said Qin Gang will also visit Norway and France from May 8 to 12.

More contact, many differences

Political exchange between Beijing and Berlin has increased noticeably since the end of the pandemic. In mid-April, Baerbock made her first visit to China and met the new Chinese foreign minister. Clear differences became clear again, for example with a view to Taiwan or the human rights situation in China.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz made his inaugural visit to China in November – as the first Western head of government after the Communist Party conference, where head of state and party leader Xi Jinping had further consolidated his power.

During the visit of Foreign Minister Baerbock to China, the controversial issues were also discussed. Was your visit a success?
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