Asia-Pacific News
China signals mending of diplomatic ties with Germany
Jan 21, 2008, 8:38 GMT
Beijing - China on Monday appeared to signal the healing of a rift with Germany following Chancellor Angela Merkel's meeting with the Dalai Lama last year, saying it welcomed the German government's positions on both Tibet and Taiwan.
'The Chinese government attaches great importance to its friendly ties with Germany and has always taken a strategic and long-term perspective in studying and handling the problems in bilateral relations,' foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.
China appreciates Germany's opposition to 'any attempt seeking Tibet's independence' and to Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's plans for a referendum on whether Taiwan should join the United Nations, Jiang said.
Jiang was responding to a question about whether Sino-German relations had 'overcome previous difficulties,' the ministry said.
She pointed out that Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi would meet his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, during six-nation talks on Iran's nuclear programme in Berlin on Tuesday.
Sigmar Gabriel, the German environment minister, would also visit China soon, Jiang said.
The two sides had 'conducted consultation for many times to overcome the difficulties in bilateral relationship and foster a stable and healthy development of China-Germany relations,' she said.
The German government had indicated that it 'attaches great significance in developing its relationship with China' and promised to continue to accept the 'one China' policy, which precludes any formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
It had also agreed not to 'support or encourage any attempt to seek Tibet's independence,' Jiang said in a statement that was reported by the People's Daily, the Xinhua news agency and other state media.
Under those conditions, China was 'willing to make joint efforts with Germany in compliance with the basic norms of dealing with international relations,' she said.
China reacted furiously to Merkel's meeting in September with the Dalai Lama.
Previous German chancellors had carefully avoided meeting the Tibetan leader, who has lived in exile in India since 1959, for fear of angering Beijing.
The Dalai Lama calls for greater autonomy for Tibet within China although many Tibetans still favour independence.
Beijing accuses him of promoting separatism, refuses to hold direct dialogue with him and regularly protests his contacts with world leaders.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Joel LintonJan 21st, 2008 - 12:00:35
This is called 'face-saving'. China really desires the economic connection of Germany, but they had to put up some bluster in response to Merkel meeting of the Dalai Lama.
I say Germany should push the envelope. Meet with Taiwan's president next. Prepare for a year of disgruntled face-saving moves and then China will come back to the table.
Give another year, and then recognize Taiwan outright.
Just think, if most of the major nations of the world would just recognize Taiwan, all at once, China would have to give up.
As for face-saving, let them suddenly 'discover' that the Manchu empire was not Chinese and so of course Taiwan has never been an integral part of the motherland.
Then they can get on with life. Taiwan can get on with life and a U.N. seat. And probably both China's and Taiwan's economies and therefore the worlds, will boom.
Besides, with that out of the way, China can stop wasting so much money on missile deployments across from Taiwan. (Over 1000 and counting as of this year.)
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