Germany’s incoming Green Party foreign minister Annalena Belbok promised on Wednesday (December 1) to “talk and be tough” when dealing with China and not rule out a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
After the new cabinet led by Social Democratic Party Olaf Schultz was sworn in, Belbok, now 40, will become Germany’s first female senior diplomat, which is likely to be held next week.
After German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Angela Merkel) has been in power for 16 years of business-oriented pragmatism, she vowed to place human rights at the core of German diplomacy, which demonstrates a firmer stance towards authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia .
“Value-oriented foreign policy is always a dialogue and a strong interaction,” she told TAZ newspaper in an interview.
“In the long run, eloquent silence is not a form of diplomacy, even if some people think so in recent years.”
Balbok, who studies international law, listed China’s treatment of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang, the detention of Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan, and uncertainty about the health of tennis star Peng Shuai as areas of concern.
Balbok said that EU countries should unite and use the influence of the EU as a major economic power when dealing with Beijing, which increases the possibility of import restrictions.
She said: “If products from areas such as Xinjiang cannot be re-entered, forced labor is a common practice. This is a big problem for exporting countries like China.”
“Of course, it will only work if all 27 member states work together,” she added.
‘A closer look at the Olympics’
Belbok stated that she did not refuse to boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics.
“We should take a closer look at the Olympics,” she said. “The government has different ways to deal with this issue, and these issues will definitely be discussed in the coming weeks.”
US President Joe Biden said in November last year that he is considering a diplomatic boycott of the event to protest China’s human rights violations. This will allow government representatives to avoid the February Olympics, while American athletes will still participate in the competition.
China refuted allegations of rights protection and stated that “politicizing sports is contrary to the Olympic spirit.”
Speaking of Russia, Baerbock reiterated her opposition to the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will double Russia’s natural gas exports to Germany.
The recently completed pipeline-still awaiting regulatory approval-has long angered German allies, claiming that it will make Europe too dependent on Russian energy and be used by Moscow for political gain.
Baerbock stated that the geopolitical security concerns of Beixi 2-“the reason why our partners in Central and Eastern Europe oppose this pipeline on such a large scale”-must be “discussed at the European level in the coming months.”
