China wants to bend the international system, German Foreign Minister bluntly – need to change policy towards Beijing

German Foreign Minister Annalena Bierbock on Tuesday said China poses a challenge to the basic principles of living together in this world and Germany will work with medium-sized countries like Australia to reduce tensions in the Indo-Pacific. . In a video address to an Australian foreign policy think tank, Bierbock said Australia’s experience of trade sanctions imposed by China influenced a change in Germany’s policy towards Beijing.

He told the Lowy Institute that China has changed and therefore our policy towards China also needs to change. He said that while China was a partner on climate change, trade and investment. It was a paragon when it comes to the basic principles of living together in this world. What we are witnessing is the emergence of a world of increasingly systemic rivalry, in which some autocratic regimes seek to tilt the international system in order to expand their sphere of influence, using not only military power but also economic might. He said that many countries are leaning towards China because they lack alternatives and Germany wants to change that.

He said Germany would not encourage new conflicts between factions, but would rather diversify its trading partners and reduce risks. We learned the painful way how vulnerable our unilateral dependence on Russian energy imports has made us. We do not want to repeat that mistake. He said Germany wanted to establish a direct supply of rare earths and lithium mined in Australia.