The German Marshal Fund reported (October 5) that Chinese officials in meetings with EU
counterparts "made clear that the use of nuclear weapons by Russia would be viewed as totally
unacceptable in Beijing". Its newsletter also said that Chinese diplomats are sending warnings
to the government about its pursuit of a harder line. Shi Mingde, a well-connected former
Chinese ambassador to Germany, spent several days in Berlin in September meeting with a
wide range of government officials—including Scholz’s chief of staff, Wolfgang Schmidt—
think tankers and industry representatives. A fluent German speaker, Shi Mingde is usually in
charm-offensive mode when he passes through Berlin. But this time was different, according
to several people who participated in his meetings. One summed up Shi’s message this way:
“If you continue down this path with China, then you’ll be sorry.” Another said Shi noted that
Beijing was in the process of finalizing concrete deliverables with Paris ahead of a looming
visit by President Emmanuel Macron. “He made clear that Germany needed to get its act
together or we would be left behind,” the second person said.
|
