"So now it's happening after all: From this Sunday until next Wednesday, Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will travel to China. There is a lot to discuss with the Chinese government. Wadephul, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), originally planned his first trip to China for October 26. But on October 24, he canceled at short notice. According to political insiders in Berlin, Wadephul had not been able to schedule talks with enough high-profile partners, so he decided the trip was not worth making. A German foreign minister with whom almost no one in Beijing wants to talk? Some observers spoke of a diplomatic scandal, especially since part of Wadephul's purpose on the trip was to prepare Chancellor Friedrich Merz's inaugural visit to China."
"Wadephul's concern about China's 'aggressive behavior' In Germany, observers decided that Wadephul had fostered a rather frosty relationship between Germany and China and saw a connection to critical comments made by Wadephul in the run-up to the visit. Before his trips to Japan and Indonesia, the foreign minister had repeatedly and publicly denounced China's "increasingly aggressive behavior" in the Taiwan Strait and in the East and South China Seas. A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, Mao Ning, promptly warned the CDU politician against continuing to "incite confrontation and fuel tensions." It was shortly after that the Chinese gave Wadephul the cold shoulder, claiming it was impossible to arrange any other meetings than that with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who had previously visited Berlin. But Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), has since visited China. He apparently succeeded in calming the waters. "We are seeking dialogue with China in order to find"
Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will travel to China from Sunday until next Wednesday to hold talks and prepare Chancellor Friedrich Merz's inaugural visit. Wadephul canceled an earlier planned trip after failing to secure meetings with high-level Chinese partners, creating perceptions of a diplomatic setback. Wadephul publicly criticized China's "increasingly aggressive behavior" in the Taiwan Strait and regional seas, provoking a warning from Beijing spokesperson Mao Ning against inciting confrontation and fueling tensions. China initially limited meetings, but Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil later visited and appeared to ease tensions, enabling Wadephul's new trip.
Read at www.dw.com
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