Germany’s incoming foreign minister Annalena Baerbock vows ‘toughness’ with China
- Annalena Baerbock from the Green party is set to become Germany’s first woman top diplomat
- She has vowed to put human rights at the centre of German diplomacy, signalling a more assertive stance
Germany’s incoming foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock from the Green party, on Wednesday pledged “dialogue and toughness” in dealing with China, and did not rule out a boycott of Beijing’s Winter Olympics.
Baerbock, 40, is set to become Germany’s first woman top diplomat once the new cabinet led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz is sworn in, likely to happen next week.
She has vowed to put human rights at the centre of German diplomacy – signalling a more assertive stance towards authoritarian regimes like China and Russia after the commerce-driven pragmatism of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 16 years in power.
“A values-driven foreign policy is always an interplay of dialogue and toughness,” she told the TAZ newspaper in an interview.
“Eloquent silence is not a form of diplomacy in the long run, even if some have seen it that way in recent years.”
European Union states should speak as one and use the bloc’s leverage as a major economic power in their dealings with Beijing, Baerbock said, raising the prospect of import restrictions.