Beijing denies Xi planned to visit Holocaust Memorial during trip to Europe
Ambassador to Berlin denies Beijing sought controversial tour, but said he had discussed with Germans how they handled wartime past
China's ambassador to Germany has denied that Beijing proposed a visit by President Xi Jinping to a second world war memorial in Berlin during his tour of Europe later this month.
Reuters had reported, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, that Beijing proposed having Xi visit the Holocaust memorial in the German capital to highlight the nation's atonement for its wartime past. The aim was to contrast Germany's record with Japan's, the report said.
Ambassador Shi Mingde told reporters on the sidelines of a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference meeting yesterday in Beijing the government had never discussed with Germany Xi visiting the Holocaust memorial. The president's itinerary was still being finalised, he said.
We agreed on how the Germans face their history
"We have never raised such an idea," Shi said. "Such reports are not in line with the facts."
Shi said Xi and German leaders would discuss "international and regional issues of mutual concern", without giving specific details.
The Reuters report said Germany rejected the idea of a visit to the memorial because it did not want to be dragged into a dispute between China and Japan.
