Germany’s Angela Merkel renews call for peaceful resolution to Hong Kong protests

German chancellor says in talks with Beijing she ‘advocated that conflicts be resolved without violence and that anything else would be a catastrophe’

She also criticised China’s social credit system during speech at a university

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Wuhan, Hubei on Saturday. Photo: DPA

Published: 9:00pm, 7 Sep 2019Updated: 10:42am, 20 Sep 2019

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday renewed her call for a peaceful resolution to the unrest in Hong Kong as she wrapped up a three-day trip to China.

Speaking to the media during her visit to the central city of Wuhan, Merkel said that in her talks with Beijing she had “advocated that conflicts be resolved without violence and that anything else would be a catastrophe from my point of view”.

Merkel also said Beijing had listened to her views. “This is important,” she added, though it was unclear whether she had raised the subject of Hong Kong directly during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.

It was the second public remark Merkel has made on Hong Kong, which has been roiled by months of anti-government protests sparked by an extradition bill that will now be withdrawn. The bill would have made it possible for Hong Kong residents to be extradited to the mainland.

Merkel had also called for a peaceful resolution to the situation and for Hong Kong’s rights to be “guaranteed” at a joint press conference with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on Friday.

Meanwhile, during a speech at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan on Saturday, the German chancellor criticised China’s social credit system. The controversial system has been rolled out in some parts of China as a means of systematically evaluating the economic and social credit worthiness of individuals and businesses.