German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator in an interview on Fox News. China will not just let that happen: the German ambassador in Beijing has been summoned, Berlin confirms. Baerbock responds “resigned” to the Chinese criticism.
The ambassador had to provide explanations for Baerbock’s statements on Sunday. Speaking from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Baerbock said she “took note” of the Chinese protest. She doesn’t want to say more about it.
In the interview, which dates from last Thursday, September 14, Baerbock discussed the Russian war in Ukraine. “If Putin were to win this war, what signal are we sending to other dictators in the world, like Xi, like the Chinese president?” the Green minister said. “That is why Ukraine must win this war. Freedom and democracy must win.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry described the German statements on Monday as “particularly absurd, a serious violation of Chinese political dignity and an open political provocation.”
It is already the third time in a short time that China has summoned the German ambassador. Diplomatic relations between the two heavyweights have been tense for some time. A strategic document published by the German government last summer called for limiting Germany’s dependence on China. Beijing called this new China strategy “counterproductive”.
US President Joe Biden previously called Xi a dictator, most recently in June. Beijing also considered this a provocation.
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