China has lashed out at Germany after its foreign minister called Xi Jinping a “dictator” and summoned Berlin’s ambassador for a dressing down, in the latest flaring of tensions with a western democratic power over how the Chinese leader is described overseas.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made the remarks in an interview with Fox News during a visit to the United States last week.
When asked about Russia’s war on Ukraine, she said: “If Putin were to win this war, what sign would that be for other dictators in the world, like Xi, like the Chinese president?”
The Chinese government on Sunday summoned Germany’s ambassador to China, Patricia Flor, to protest Baerbock’s comments, a German foreign ministry spokesperson told CNN Monday.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
China has lashed out at Germany after its foreign minister called Xi Jinping a “dictator” and summoned Berlin’s ambassador for a dressing down, in the latest flaring of tensions with a western democratic power over how the Chinese leader is described overseas.
The Chinese government on Sunday summoned Germany’s ambassador to China, Patricia Flor, to protest Baerbock’s comments, a German foreign ministry spokesperson told CNN Monday.
Jiang, who died aged 96 last year, is remembered by many Chinese as a symbol for a bygone era when China was perceived to be freer and less ideologically driven under a system known as “collective leadership”.
That referred to a power-sharing arrangement among political elites introduced by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to restore stability in the aftermath of Chairman Mao Zedong’s turbulent dictatorship.
Germany’s current government is made up of a centre-left coalition of parties that led to Angela Merkel stepping down in late 2021 after 16 years at the helm of Europe’s largest economy.
Foreign minister Baerbock hails from Germany’s Greens party and has pushed for a tougher stance on China, especially on the issues of human rights and Taiwan – a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own.
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