Baerbock announces tougher course toward authoritarian-ruled states

Baerbock announces tougher course toward authoritarian-ruled states AFP - Yesterday at 16:19 Green Party leader and designated foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has announced a tougher course toward authoritarian-ruled states like China. "Dialogue is the central building block of international politics. But that doesn't mean you have to gloss things over or hush them up," Baerbock told Berlin's "taz" newspaper (Thursday edition). "For me, a values-driven foreign policy is always an interplay of dialogue and toughness." Baerbock commented on the question of whether Germany would be more confrontational with regard to China with a Green foreign minister. Alluding to the outgoing government under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), the Green Party politician said, "Eloquent silence is not a form of diplomacy in the long run, even if some have seen it that way in recent years." Specifically, Baerbock proposed, among other things, import restrictions for the European single market. "If there is no longer access for products that come from regions like Xinjiang, where forced labor is common practice, that is a big problem for an exporting country like China," she said. "We Europeans should use this lever of the common internal market much more." What is needed, she said, is a common European policy on China. Baerbock did not rule out a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing: "Of course, we should also take a closer look at the Olympic Games. There are different ways for governments to deal with this, which will certainly be discussed in the coming weeks." Commenting on the "foreign climate policy" formulated in the coalition agreement, Baerbock said, "I understand foreign policy as world domestic policy: crises have an impact across borders. They can only be managed globally and cooperatively." The biggest global crisis, she said, is the climate crisis. It was no longer enough, he said, to look to each country to address its own climate goals, "but we must finally join forces." The major climate conferences are needed as a framework, she said, "but equally we need more countries to show that a climate-neutral economy ensures prosperity and to reach out to other countries." She believes that the industrialized countries have a duty to do this. Commenting on Germany's G7 presidency next year, Baerbock said, "I want it to become the launch pad for climate partnerships and a climate club open to all countries." To achieve the Paris climate goals, she said, massive investments in climate infrastructure are needed, both