Baerbock Takes a Stand: The Hidden Fist in Germany’s Diplomatic Dance with China

China has Vladimir Putin’s back as he continues his war of aggression against Ukraine. Germany is now trying to increase the pressure on Beijing in the UN General Assembly. Successfully?

Patrick Diekmann reports from New York.

It’s not an easy start to the UN week for them. Even before the official start of the UN general debate in New York, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock meets her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. China and Baerbock? That didn’t really add up until now. During her visit to China in April 2023, the Green politician exchanged blows with Wang’s predecessor, Qin Gang. A few months later, Baerbock called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator.” Baerbock is seen as the driving force behind the federal government reducing Germany’s dependence on the People’s Republic.

Things can definitely get icy when Baerbock meets with Chinese officials. If you believe that Chinese diplomats, Beijing praise the exchange with the Chancellor Olaf Scholz or the Minister of Economy Robert Habeck. But Baerbock would no longer accept an invitation to China, according to diplomatic circles. The tablecloth was cut.

Despite everything, Baerbock and Wang also have direct conversations with each other during UN Week. Little is known about the contents; But one thing becomes clear: Baerbock is also meeting the Chinese leadership with a strategy that the US government under Joe Biden is following towards China: one hand is extended, but there is a clenched fist in it pocket.

This means, first and foremost, that the West will continually make offers of cooperation to China. Of course, the federal government also sees the problem that major global challenges, such as combating the climate crisis, can only be solved with China. In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, US President Biden called on China to cooperate more – an extended hand. However, he also harshly criticized Beijing for Chinese support for Putin, unfair economic practices, espionage and aggressive expansionist policies in the South China Sea – the fist.

In New York, Baerbock is at least trying not to let the thread of conversation with China break off. Even if we agree on one thing above all on key geopolitical issues: that we disagree.

Germany is mainly critical of China’s role in the conflict in Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping wants his strategic partner Putin to win the war. Although it does not yet supply weapons directly to the Russian military, the People’s Republic is sending some “dual use” goods that can also be used militarily. The engine of a Russian attack drone will be produced in China. In addition, Russia receives weapons from North Korea, whose existential dependence on China is so great that such supplies are unlikely without Beijing’s consent.

For China, the Ukraine war is a nuisance in every way because it forces Beijing to perform an unpleasant balancing act. The Chinese leadership apparently expected Russia to win the war quickly. But Putin has been lost in this conflict for two and a half years and it could continue like this for a long time. And at the moment China is mainly following the diplomatic strategy of wanting to limit the political damage to itself – with a view to Europe.

There is one thing Beijing wants to prevent at all costs: further Western sanctions against China. The country’s own economy has been in a tense period since the end of the corona pandemic. The Chinese leadership does not need further trade conflicts with the West.