German foreign minister urges China to stop backing Russia, work for Ukraine peace
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BEIJING: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday (Dec 2) warned her Chinese counterpart that Beijing's support for Moscow would impact ties and instead urged China to help end the Ukraine conflict.
Speaking in Beijing, she said the over 1,000-day war was impacting the whole world and condemned the battlefield role of North Korean troops in Ukraine and the use of Chinese-made drones.
Baerbock urged an international peace process for Ukraine and said "that is why I am here in China today", adding that every permanent member of the UN Security Council had a "responsibility for peace and security in the world".
"The Russian president is not only destroying our European peace order through his war against Ukraine, but is now dragging Asia into it via North Korea," she told a press briefing.
"My Chinese counterpart and I have therefore discussed in depth that this cannot be in China's interest either."
Germany's top diplomat met with her counterpart Wang Yi for a "strategic dialogue" as Berlin seeks to build better ties with China while engaging on key differences.
Wang Yi on Monday stressed the importance of "dialogue and cooperation" with Germany in a meeting with his counterpart in Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
