Thread by @GermanAmbUSA

Dear @noahbarkin, we appreciate your insightful thoughts on possible trips by EU leaders to China. You know us Germans well: We like to take our time to reflect and discuss, sometimes a bit long… Now while I cannot confirm any specific travel plans, let me share a few thoughts.

https://twitter.com/noahbarkin/status/1571391125621018624

Like the US and many of our like-minded partners, we did not travel to the Beijing Olympics. We did not want to engage in propaganda games at a time when war in Europe was already looming and human rights in #Xinjiang and other places are grossly abused.

Instead, Chancellor Scholz’s 1st destination in Asia was Japan 🇯🇵 , not China 🇨🇳. A very deliberate choice. Foreign Minister Baerbock’s 1st destinations in Asia were G20 Foreign Ministers meeting, Palau🇵🇼 and Japan 🇯🇵. Guess what? Deliberate choice, too.

The current 🇩🇪 Government has been in office since Dec 2021. At some point, we need to have a candid discussion with our 🇨🇳 counterparts. Not online, but in person. Like other partners will do as well at some point. What do you think?

We do not believe that it is an option to walk away and do not engage in dialogue. Whether we like it or not: China cooperation is vital when it comes to dealing with global problems. Therefore, we need to engage on the highest level.

The list of issues is indeed long – from Putin’s brutal war of aggression to the pandemic and the urgent need to address climate change now. If we do not engage, the list will only get longer, some problems will become harder to resolve.

You know that the current 🇩🇪 Government has a different approach on 🇨🇳. Our 🇨🇳 counterparts realize that, too. We do not mince our words- regarding human rights, Taiwan and other issues where we strongly disagree with 🇨🇳. Chancellor Scholz just spoke up about Xinjiang at #UNGA77.

We will sharpen this approach while working on our first-ever national China strategy.  We have to do both – engage and deter.

I’m looking forward to reading more about this in your Watching China in Europe column for @GMFAsia and to welcoming you again at our embassy to continue this important discussion next time you will be in DC.