Next German leader should put aside ideological differences to work with China, says ambassador

Wu Ken tells state media that Germany will be an important partner no matter who forms the next government
Ambassador also praised Chancellor Angela Merkel for ‘open mind’ towards China

Angela Merkel

Laura Zhouin Beijing

Published: 9:00pm, 3 Oct 2021

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Germany will be an important partner for China no matter which parties are in power and both countries should set aside their ideological differences to deepen cooperation, the country’s ambassador to Berlin has said as talks on the formation of the next government continue.

In an interview with state-owned Xinhua News Agency published by the embassy, Wu Ken, the Chinese ambassador in Germany, urged the next chancellor to adopt a “positive, pragmatic and cooperative policy”.

He said: “Regardless of which combination of parties is in power in Germany, China will continue to regard Germany as an important partner and maintain close dialogue and cooperation with the new government, parliament and all parties.

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“In addressing global challenges requires more trust and cooperation in the world, China and Germany should work together.”

Beijing is increasingly anxious about Berlin’s strategy towards China as Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose pro-engagement policy has largely shaped Europe’s approach to China over the past 16 years, prepares to step down.

The centre-left Social Democratic Party and Merkel’s centre-right alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU), are now vying to form a coalition with the smaller parties after the SDP’s narrow victory in last week’s election.

The two most likely partners, the Greens and liberal Free Democrats, have both called for a tougher policy towards China.

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Wu praised Merkel in the interview, describing her “a politician with a long-term strategic vision and a focus on dialogue and communication”.

“What struck me most about Chancellor Merkel was her willingness to get to know and understand China with an open mind,” he said.

“She didn’t understand China at the beginning, but instead of clinging to political prejudices and jumping to conclusions based on assumptions, as some European politicians do, she has tried to learn more about and understand China.”

Bilateral ties significantly advanced under Merkel, who has advocated cooperation and close commercial ties.

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The two sides have been holding regular meetings since 2011 and in 2014, during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Berlin, the relationship was upgraded to an “all-round strategic partnership”, the highest among China’s diplomatic ties with the West.

There has been criticism in the last years of Merkel’s chancellorship that she has been too soft on China, although the two countries have also clashed over human rights in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Recently Beijing refused to allow a German warship to make a port call in China as part of a six-month mission to the Indo-Pacific, which also saw it enter the disputed South China Sea.

Beijing said the patrol was an attempt to “provoke incidents”.

China’s ambassador to Germany Wu Ken. Photo: EPA-EFE

Wu called on for further joint efforts to stabilise bilateral ties despite “some murmurs in Sino-German relations that interfere with and hinder cooperation”, and urged the two sides to work together to boost the post-pandemic economic recovery, safeguard free trade and tackle climate change.

He said there was room for cooperation in fields such as new energy vehicles, innovative manufacturing, green development and digital economies, but the two sides need to overcome ideological differences.

“The key is to respect each other, to seek common ground,” he added.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Germany ‘will remain key partner’ under any parties