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‘You don’t even understand the basics’: Chinese ex-diplomat lashes out at EU envoy
- Nicolas Chapuis draws sharp criticism after accusing China of ‘changing its diplomacy’ and questioning its attacks on Lithuania’s Taiwan deal
- Former foreign ministry official warns that ambassador’s ‘biases’ could hurt hopes of improved bilateral relations
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A former senior Chinese diplomat has accused the European Union’s ambassador of not understanding “the basics”, lashing out at his criticism of China’s “changing” diplomacy and warning of a grave impact on relations with the EU.
This came as the two sides continued to press each other on resolving thorny issues in relations, ranging from human rights concerns and Taiwan to tit-for-tat sanctions and a stalled trade deal.
Wu Hailong, a former assistant minister at China’s foreign ministry, hit out after the EU ambassador Nicolas Chapuis accused China of changing its diplomatic posture and questioned Beijing’s response to Lithuania and Taiwan’s agreement to set up representative offices.
02:17
‘One China’ explained
‘One China’ explained
“You don’t even understand the basics,” Wu said in a raised voice as he commented on Chapuis’ speech in a largely online forum on China-EU relations on Wednesday.
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Hosted by the Chinese think tank Taihe, the forum was attended by a mix of Chinese academics, retired Chinese officials, and a few foreign diplomats and analysts.
Wu accused Lithuania of going against the one-China principle, the official view that Beijing expects its diplomatic partners to adopt.
Lithuania’s decision in August to allow Taipei to open a de facto embassy bearing the name “Taiwan” angered Beijing, which recalled its ambassador to Vilnius and demanded reciprocal action.
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