China on Monday condemned German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock after she labeled Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator.”
“China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the German side’s remarks, which are extremely absurd, a serious infringement of China’s political dignity and an open political provocation,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday according to local news.
“China has made serious inquiries to the German side through diplomatic channels,” she added.
Last week, Baerbock gave an interview to Fox News underlining Germany’s support for Ukraine — in which she fired a broadside at Xi.
“If Putin were to win this war, what sign would that be for other dictators in the world, like Xi, like the Chinese president?” the foreign minister said.
In recent months, Baerbock has been a sharp-tongued critic of the Chinese government.
She has questioned China’s global ambitions, criticized its human-rights violations, and called on Beijing to take a firm stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine. In July, she announced a new China strategy to reduce reliance on Beijing by “de-risking” German companies’ dependencies on the country.
Source : Politico