22 January 2008
China and Germany vow to take “relationship to a higher level”
(AFP; Handelsblatt; Der Spiegel; Xinhua; ChinaView; huliq; Financial Times) Germany and China have announced that their bilateral relations have returned to normal after tensions following Chancellor Angela Merkel’s meeting in September 2007 with the Dalai Lama. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister and Vice-Chancelor, held talks in Berlin with Yang Jiechi, his Chinese counterpart, and said that the event marked "a return to normality in our relations". Mr Yang said: "China values its ties with Germany", adding that Beijing was ready to "take our relationship to a higher level". Prior to the meeting, on 20 January, a Chinese government speaker expressed satisfaction over a German pledge to "firmly adhere to one-China policy" and "recognise that Taiwan and Tibet are parts of Chinese territory". On 21 January, Chinese Science and Technology Minister Wang Gang clarified that Angela Merkel is welcome in the Chinese capital "at any time, also for the Olympic Games". Merkel's meeting with the Dalai Lama sparked a dispute between Social Democrats (SPD) and Christian Democrats (CDU) who rule Germany in a coalition but remain bitter electoral rivals. Steinmeier, a deputy leader of the Social Democrats, criticised the Christian Democrat Chancellor's meeting with the Dalai Lama as "shop-window politics". Sources close to the German Foreign Ministry, dominated by the Social Democrats, said that China and Germany are still "a long way from a trusting, cooperative relationship" and describe the meeting on 22 January as a success for Steinmeier’s "secret diplomacy", allegedly conducted with the Chancellor "not clued in on the details". Also, the Asia-Pacific Committee of the main German industry federation welcomed the move as a "very important step", mentioning "strong fears that a longer period of tensions would have hit trade deals and investment contracts". However, Ms Merkel noted: "We’ve all made clear that relations between Germany and China are important. The Chancellery has done that, I’ve done it and so has the foreign minister". In previous statements she also said, "Friends must be able to bear a disagreement".