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German FM in China: 'great concern' over Taiwan tensions
Uploader: AP Archive
Original upload date: Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT
Archive date: Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:11:01 GMT
(14 Apr 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beijing - 14 April 2023
1. Wide of Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang and German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock speaking at news conferen
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ce
2. SOUNDBITE (German) Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister:
"We therefore view the increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait with great concern. That is why it was important to me in the meeting that, while we understand the sensitivity of the Taiwan issue and stand firmly by our One-China policy, conflicts must be resolved peacefully. A unilateral change of the status quo would not be acceptable to us as Europeans."
3. Close of journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (German) Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister:
"But I have to wonder why the Chinese positioning so far does not include a call for the aggressor, Russia, to stop the war. We all know that (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin would have the opportunity to do so at any time, and the people in Ukraine would like nothing more than to finally be able to live in peace again."
5. Qin and Baerbock during conference
6. SOUNDBITE (German) Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister:
"Since respect for human rights is also in our economic interest, I explained to my colleague in our bilateral talks that we are concerned that the scope for civil society engagement in China is shrinking and human rights are being curtailed. What this means for Uyghurs is documented in black and white in the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights."
7. Close of journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (German) Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister:
"We do not want a de-coupling. At the same time, our companies are aware that the economic environment in China has changed in recent years. The German constitutional state guarantees fair conditions for Chinese companies in Germany and we expect the same for German investments in China because competitive opportunities on an equal footing are a prerequisite for fair exchange in our countries."
9. Various of Qin and Baerbock during conference
10. Qin and Baerbock leaving conference
STORYLINE:
German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, on Friday stressed Berlin's "great concern" over increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and called for any issues in the area to be "resolved peacefully".
Her comments came during a visit to China where she met with her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang for talks.
China's ruling Communist Party sent warships and fighter planes near Taiwan last weekend in retaliation for a meeting between U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen.
European governments are increasingly worried about Chinese pressure on Taiwan, a global high-tech centre and one of the biggest trading economies.
"We therefore view the increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait with great concern," Baerbock told reporters during a joint conference with Qin in the Chinese capital.
"While we understand the sensitivity of the Taiwan issue and stand firmly by our One-China policy, conflicts must be resolved peacefully," she added.
Baerbock also reiterated calls for China to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine.
While Germany has strongly backed Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, Beijing has blamed the U.S. and NATO for provoking the conflict, refused to criticize Moscow's actions and criticized economic sanctions against Putin's regime.
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