EThe day after his return from Beijing, Olaf Scholz defended his trip to China. The Chinese leadership agreed with his stance: “No nuclear weapons may be used in this war,” said the Chancellor. “The whole trip was worth it for that alone,” said Scholz at the SPD debate convention on Saturday in Berlin.
Scholz had already said in Beijing that Chinese President Xi Jinping and he agreed that nuclear threats are “irresponsible and highly dangerous”. The statement was directed against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had threatened to use such weapons. Scholz called on Russia to rule out the use of nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine. “It is not allowed, it is unacceptable to use nuclear weapons in this conflict,” he said. “We call on Russia to state clearly that it will not do this.”
The Federal Chancellor then answered questions from the participants in the debate convention for more than an hour, many of whom revolved around the topic of China. Scholz said the idea of a communist party ruling a country as sole ruler was of course incompatible “with our ideas”. Nevertheless, there are problems such as the fight against hunger in the world, climate change or the overindebtedness of countries in the south of the world that need to be discussed with China.
It is not good advice to withdraw from China. However, one must clearly address the oppression of minorities as well as the threat to countries bordering the South China Sea. Regarding Beijing’s threats to Taiwan, Scholz said that Germany, like the United States, is pursuing a one-China policy. However, it will not be accepted that violence is used against Taiwan. He “made that very clear” in Beijing, said the Chancellor.
It is also important not to become dependent on China for the future when it comes to importing and exporting goods and raw materials. Germany must remain capable of acting if there are difficulties with China, “even in 20 or 30 years.” That’s why you have to diversify trade, intensify it with Japan or South Korea, but also with countries like Vietnam or Indonesia. All of this will flow into a China strategy of the federal government, which is currently being developed.
Scholz called the idea of a bipolar world in which only the United States and China would face each other as superpowers “wrong”. He opposes everyone who thinks that such a division of the world is inevitable. The countries of the Global South would rightly not accept such a world order. There are many countries that are “certainly not democracies” in the western sense, but in which one need not fear too much if one disagrees with the government and which do not act aggressively towards their neighbors. Germany must build good relations with such countries of the Global South.
Scholz criticized the forms of protest of the climate activists of the group “Last Generation”. He said it was “not a good idea” for artwork to be thrown with pulp or for activists to glue themselves to the roadway. “People just get annoyed from start to finish,” said the Chancellor. The people of this “small group” followed the concept that Germany should “simply shut down the industry” for climate protection. His attitude is different, and that’s how “most of the country’s citizens” see it. Scholz advocated promoting climate protection through the expansion of renewable energies and modern technology.
Regarding Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine, Scholz said that at the end of every war there is a diplomatic agreement. Now, however, Putin must first move away from his idea of a dictated peace, which makes real peace impossible. “And it would be a good step if he were to withdraw his troops,” said Scholz.