Chinese foreign minister urges Germany to resist US pressure play for disengagement with China
- Wang Yi’s appeal comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calls on democratic nations to ally themselves against the Chinese Communist Party
- German foreign minister Heiko Maas urges dialogue with China, despite Pompeo’s call for disengagement with Beijing
China’s foreign minister has asked Germany not to yield to Washington’s pressure to take sides, just hours after US secretary of state Mike Pompeo was seen as criticising Berlin for “failing to stand up for freedom in Hong Kong”.
Speaking after his call with Wang Yi, German foreign minister Heiko Maas stressed the need for dialogue on critical issues with China, in a snub to Pompeo’s call for an end to empty engagement with the Chinese authorities.
The leading economies of Asia and Europe also vowed to complete talks “as soon as possible” over the investment agreement between China and the European Union, Chinese state media Xinhua reported. Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU council.
Wang’s call with Maas came a day after Pompeo delivered a hawkish speech on China, in which he called on democratic nations to form an alliance against the Chinese Communist Party and dismissed the need for empty engagement with it.
“Some anti-China forces in America have deliberately created ideological confrontation and openly threatened other countries to take a side. They confront China out of the US’ self-interest,” Wang said in the virtual meeting. “Any conscientious country with an independent will shall not join forces with it.”
