China

Makes, market, human rights intergovernmental consultations in Beijing

Angela Merkel leads the half a Cabinet to Beijing. Government consultations, the Format is, the Germany otherwise only with a few, but democratic countries maintains. From Beijing’s Dagmar Engel.

“I’ll just say what I want.” With this simple Utterance, the German Chancellor, brings the whole room full of press people Laugh – in the great hall of the people in Beijing, this sentence sounds anything but mundane. The Chinese government is repressing freedom of expression and freedom of the press, an army of censors supervises the Social media, many foreign news Websites are blocked, including the side of the DW.

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The Merkel quote is somewhat taken out of context. The Chinese head of government Li Keqiang had some confusion: Because of him, the question of how to deal with the conflict in the South China sea close to went so, he answered simply, although the question of Angela Merkel. His response corresponded to the well-Known: China is in the right, with its claims to the Islands, disputes should bilaterally be removed, and all the others – especially the USA – should keep out. Since it’s already a small Sensation, when the final Declaration is that China to the UN law of the sea commitment with the freedoms of navigation and Overflight. In recent days, there had been two near-incidents with American and Chinese combat aircraft.

A small step in front of…

The Non-interference one of the fundamental principles of Chinese policy, this applies in both directions. The – as Angela Merkel also stressed again now – successful Engagement of China in the nuclear agreement with Iran had been a deviation from this principle, detect.

The Plan, together with Germany, in Afghanistan, a trilateral project to raise disaster protection and mining training is called the closing statement – it sounds like a small step. For China, it is a step in a new direction.

Together? Merkel and China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang

…and a back

A step in the old direction, the so-called NGO-law. China, the non-governmental organisations from next year, under police supervision, at the same time, you need to put your financing and your Chinese contacts open. Was going on a date now, she said after her first conversation with Li Keqiang, “a kind of early warning system, a short wire through the ministries of foreign Affairs.” In the joint statement, the two welcomed “the legitimate work of foreign NGOs.” The point would be in the statement, have you taken the interpretation of “lawful” in the Text, it was from the Delegation. Law in China at the end of the Communist party, and the “Rule of Law”, to do with the rule of law that Angela Merkel has mentioned a number of times during her visit, much.

On the spot or together?

Legal uncertainty is one of the problems, the complaining German entrepreneurs again and again, in addition to concerns about theft of intellectual property and the lack of free market access. China promises for years, without anything to see. The shops were, of course, however, The agreements that were made on the occasion of the government consultations include a volume of 2.73 billion euros. A billion is bringing a contract by Airbus on the installation of 100 helicopters in China. Daimler is investing half a billion in a motor factory. So real are the fears of the companies, as large apparently as the German interest in this huge market. And conversely, China wants to be a part of the German “industry 4.0”.

The next round of intergovernmental consultations between Germany and China are already planned. 2018 in Berlin.