“Instead of taking responsibility for peace and security in the world as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is opposing our core European interests with its economic and weapons aid to Russia,” German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said in an emailed statement before departing Berlin airport on Sunday for her two-day visit to Beijing.
Vladimir “Putin’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine is a direct threat to our peace. I will also speak in Beijing about the fact that we cannot simply ignore this in our relations with China.”
The European Union is proposing to sanction several Chinese firms that it claims helped Russian companies develop attack drones that were deployed against Ukraine. Baerbock will meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing to address this issue, her spokesman said. Germany’s top diplomat will also discuss the humanitarian situation in China, as well as EU tariffs against Chinese electric vehicles that were introduced in October.
What has that to do with Baerbock not being taken seriously? China knows the person to talk with now is Trump. They know Germany just does whatever the US says under the current administration. The closest to a “European leader” we have now is Macron, which is frankly pathetic, but Germany has removed itself from the diplomatic scene. This will prove detrimental to the EU, to Germany and also to Ukraine, as a self sovereign European position would be needed to counterbalance Trump. But Germany won’t be the source of it.
Finally it is quite ironic that Germany tries to criticize China over supplying weapons to Russia, while Germany proudly proclaims its continued weapons supply to Israel. China will just ask Baerbock, why Germany isn’t minding their own business, supplying suspected war criminals with weapons.
If Germanys claims and particular Baerbocks claims of a value led foreign policy rooted in international law wouldn’t be a steaming stinking pile of hypocrisy, maybe they could get their voices heard a tiny bit. This way however they will be ignored at best, but probably ridiculed instead. Ukraine suffers under this, becoming another victim of German hypocrisy.
I find it a bit weird how you (implicitly) pin blame primarily on Baerbock. Clearly, she is not the most forceful diplomat there is. However, imo that’s not generally for lack of good ideas (and yes, I find value-based/feminist foreign policy a great idea), rather she’s (a) probably lacking in machismo and (b) been undermined by cabinet colleagues, primarily Scholz who would always wait for US support before doing anything in Ukraine, by Lindner who’s been cutting budgets whenever/wherever possible, and even by her party colleague Habeck who negotiated the Qatar gas deal.
“Germany has left the diplomatic scene” – well no, it hasn’t but it hasn’t had a government able to speak in unison for at least a year now. “Germany bends to the will of whatever US government there is” – I am much less sure of that being true when a less respectful/respectable person assumes presidency; clearly, everyone will have to make do regardless.
The disparity between rhetoric and reality, hence the hypocrisy is the result of her public statements.
Values are worthless if you throw them out immediately. If she couldn’t see her values respected, she could have resigned.
In regards to weapon deliveries to Israel the decision requires every involved ministry, including hers to sign off on them. So she had a veto power she never used, in particular now that Germany is boasting about sending more weapons, which will undermine any credibility when criticizing China for doing the same with Russia. But unlike Germany, China is not a signatory to the ICC. So China is not violating any of its international obligations. Germany is.
And in regards to Habeck i remember an interview with both of them in the last election cycle, when Baerbock was made the “chancellor candidate” by the Green party. She boasted how she has a background in international law, whereas Habeck has a background on the pig farm. “Schweinestall”.
She owns every bit of her lies and it is evident that she is a spineless career politician, who does not believe in any values.
