China’s olive branch to sanctioned German think tank ‘poorly timed’
- Former ambassador among Chinese delegation which met Berlin-based Merics just as EU agreed to extend sanctions against Beijing
- The unofficial visit is understood to have included discussions about walking back Beijing’s sanctioning of the think tank
An apparent move by a Chinese delegation last year to backtrack on Beijing’s sanctions on a Berlin-based think tank was undermined when their visit to Europe clashed with the announcement that EU restrictions on China would be renewed.
Numerous sources said a former Chinese ambassador met representatives of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics) in November, when a delegation of former government officials visited Europe.
Neither the Chinese embassy in Germany nor Merics has officially confirmed the meeting, but multiple people with knowledge of the event said Beijing’s sanctions against the think tank had been discussed.
The Chinese delegation is understood to have been part of a mission led by Wu Hongbo, Beijing’s special representative on Europe, in late November. Official announcements recorded Wu’s meetings with European counterparts during the week-long visits to Benelux and Iceland.
“They [the Chinese side] thought they could do something with the sanctions, due to their expiration in March,” said one source, who asked for anonymity because of the closed-door nature of the meeting. “But they came too late.”