Before leaving, the German Foreign Minister made three tough demands to China, and as a result, his visit to China was canceled!
Originally, the German Foreign Minister was scheduled to come to China in two days. But what happened? Before he even started, the trip suddenly turned into nothing. What exactly happened behind the scenes?
It turned out that he had stated before his departure that he would make three demands to China. The first one was to ask China to relax its export controls on key rare earth elements such as gallium and germanium. The second one was to ask China to commit not to use force in the Taiwan Strait. And the third one was even more absurd: he asked China to use its influence to pressure Russia to stop the war in Ukraine. Who did he think he was?
As a result, many previously scheduled meetings were canceled, leaving only a bilateral meeting between foreign ministers. This left him in an awkward position, forcing him to postpone his trip. Even within Germany, it was considered very embarrassing.
So you see, it wasn't that China suddenly changed its mind, but rather his attitude of "making demands" showed no respect at all. This approach is not only against diplomatic etiquette, but also overestimates China's tolerance. In the end, a visit that could have promoted communication ended before it even began.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846923695641612/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.