{"id":960,"date":"2021-11-27T06:57:44","date_gmt":"2021-11-27T03:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/?p=960"},"modified":"2021-11-27T06:57:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-27T03:57:45","slug":"german-coalition-seals-deal-for-new-government-new-tough-talking-china-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/german-coalition-seals-deal-for-new-government-new-tough-talking-china-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"GERMAN COALITION SEALS DEAL FOR NEW GOVERNMENT, NEW TOUGH-TALKING CHINA POLICY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South China Morning Post<\/a>. 25 November 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Below is an article published by South China Morning Post<\/a>. Photo:Reuters.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A deal announced on Wednesday confirmed that Germany will have a new government, a new chancellor and, according to the coalition agreement, a new and tougher policy on China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz will succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor, as Europe\u2019s largest economy gets its first new leader for 16 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Scholz will form a government with the Green Party and Free Democratic Party (FDP), with both junior partners winning key cabinet positions, some of which they will fill with tough-talkers on China policy and foreign policy writ large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coalition agreement text contains more than a dozen references to China, and for the first time mentions human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the erosion of rights in Hong Kong, and the situation involving Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free Democratic Party leader Christian Lindner, Social Democratic Party (SPD) top candidate for chancellor Olaf Scholz, Green Party co-chairwoman Annalena Baerbock, Green Party co-chairman Robert Habeck, SPD co-chairman Norbert Walter-Borjans and SPD co-chairwoman Saskia Esken pose for media after the presentation of the coalition contract in Berlin on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe language on China is the strongest ever to appear in a German coalition agreement, reflecting growing concerns about the direction of China under Xi Jinping,\u201d said Noah Barkin, managing editor with Rhodium Group\u2019s China practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mentions of issues considered to be \u201cred lines\u201d by the ruling Chinese Communist Party \u201cshows a readiness to speak more openly about differences with Beijing\u201d, Barkin added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text says that Germany wants to \u201cdevelop our relations with China in the dimensions of partnership, shaping competition and system rivalry\u201d, and that it seeks China\u2019s cooperation \u201con the basis of human rights\u201d where possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing Beijing as a \u201csystemic rival\u201d, it calls for a \u201ca comprehensive China strategy in Germany within the framework of the common EU-China policy\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It calls on Chinese foreign policy to \u201cplay a responsible role for peace and stability in its neighborhood\u201d, and said Germany is \u201ccommitted to ensuring that territorial disputes in the South and East China seas are settled on the basis of international law of the sea\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs part of the EU\u2019s one-China policy, we support the factual participation of democratic Taiwan in international organisations. We address clearly China\u2019s human rights abuses, particularly in Xinjiang. The principle of \u2018one country \u2013 two systems\u2019 in Hong Kong needs to be restored,\u201d read the negotiated text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leaders now have 10 days to clear the agreement with their own parties; there are unlikely to be major changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annalena Baerbock, the co-leader of the Green Party, is expected to be named foreign minister, while the other co-leader Robert Habeck is favourite to be vice-chancellor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Greens have vowed to pursue a \u201cvalues-based\u201d foreign policy, and to take a tougher line on China, Russia and other perceived threats to German and EU security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FDP leader Christian Lindner will be the next finance minister, and has also been a prominent critic of Germany\u2019s long-standing China policy, which even Merkel last week described as \u201cnaive\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These views have bled into the coalition text, which is peppered with references to \u201cmultilateralism, rule of law and democracy\u201d, and the need for \u201cclose transatlantic coordination in China policy\u201d.

\u201cWe support the EU\u2019s proposed import ban on products from forced labour,\u201d reads one section of the text, seen as another nod towards suspected Chinese government abuses in Xinjiang, where it is accused of detaining a million Uygurs and other ethnic minority groups in camps. Beijing has said the camps are vocational training centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agreement says that the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) \u201ccannot currently\u201d be ratified, in a signal that the parties realise there is no easy road back for the deal, which was frozen after a tit-for-tat sanctioning blitz left European MPs, diplomats and academics on a Beijing blacklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Post<\/em> reported on Wednesday that the EU is on the cusp of renewing its sanctions on Chinese officials, meaning there is little potential to unlock the CAI in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the message [to Beijing] is very clear, from my perspective. It is that conditions have changed around our relationship over the past few years, and this is now reflected in the new coalition treaty that accepts the new realities that are there,\u201d said Janka Oertel, director of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChina is, yes, all three things. Partner, rival, competitor, but with a competitive dimension and a rivalry dimension, just now carry greater weight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some political figures have warned not to expect overnight changes in Germany\u2019s China policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, Nils Schmid, the Social Democrats\u2019 foreign policy spokesman in the last parliament, told a think tank audience: \u201cDo not expect too much change from the new German government in terms of foreign policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annalena Baerbock, co-leader of the Green Party, during a news conference to present the details of the new coalition, in Berlin on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others said that change will come, but to expect a gradual process, rather than a major overhaul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re steering a tanker and turn it five degrees in one direction, you end up in a completely different place,\u201d said one person involved in the coalition negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thorsten Benner, co-founder of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, said that the hardening line on China among the conservatives, now in opposition, will push the new government to stick to its rhetoric on these issues. However, the main proponent of a \u201cmore realistic stance on China\u201d will be Beijing itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis year has made it clear that the Merkel approach of engagement and deepening is a shambles. Take a look at Beijing\u2019s excessive counter-sanctions, which killed Merkel\u2019s CAI plus the Bayern episode where Beijing rebuffed Merkel\u2019s olive branch of a Shanghai port call,\u201d Benner said, in reference to a German frigate that was sent to the South China Sea this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd while Scholz may be inclined to continue with a non-confrontational stance vis-\u00e0-vis Beijing he is committed to invest massively in Germany\u2019s and Europe\u2019s innovation and competitiveness capacity. And investing in your own strengths is an essential element of any successful China policy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South China Morning Post. 25 November 2021 Below is an article published by South China Morning Post. Photo:Reuters. A deal announced on Wednesday confirmed that Germany will have a new government, a new chancellor and, according to the coalition agreement, a new<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=960"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":961,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960\/revisions\/961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dukva.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}