The foreign ministers of Germany and China have conducted two months of "secret diplomacy" to mend relations between the countries ahead of a meeting in Berlin next week, a magazine report said.
German weekly Der Spiegel said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had exchanged secret letters with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi (
Berlin is expected to host the Chinese foreign minister during six-way talks on Iran's nuclear program next week.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment on the report, but said Steinmeier was working to patch things up.
"The foreign minister is trying to find a solution to the conflicts that have recently arisen in bilateral relations by working closely and intensively with the Chinese," he said.
Beijing confirmed that talks between the two had been ongoing, following its anger over Merkel's meeting in Berlin in September with the exiled spiritual leader, whom the Chinese government regards as a separatist.
"Over the past period of time, in order to overcome difficulties that emerged in relations between China and Germany and to spur the healthy and stable development of China-German relations, the two sides have held several consultations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) said in a statement on the ministry's Web site.
Following Merkel's meeting with the Dalai Lama, China canceled a number of high-level meetings with German officials, raising concerns among Germany's business leaders about the impact the row could have on trade.
Der Spiegel said that Merkel knew Steinmeier had been exchanging letters with Yang, but was not informed about the details. Citing diplomats, the magazine said Steinmeier had come out in support of the "one China" policy in the exchanges.
A Chinese statement said that Taiwan was a key part of the consultations.
"The German side has expressed that the German government pays high attention to the development of relations with China and will continue to resolutely stick to the `one China' policy," Jiang said.
Germany would also "recognize that Taiwan and Tibet are part of China's territory, resolutely oppose Taiwan's referendum on UN membership and not support or encourage any efforts toward Tibet independence," she said.
In response, Chinese Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang (
Merkel said last week that she had no regrets about her historic meeting with the Dalai Lama.
"I think that friendly relations can withstand differences of opinion," Merkel told reporters.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency and the Pentagon on Monday said that some North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk border region. Those are the first reported casualties since the US and Ukraine announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost three-year war. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said that about 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded during a battle with the Ukrainian army at the weekend. The casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a
FREEDOM NO MORE: Today, protests in Macau are just a memory after Beijing launched measures over the past few years that chilled free speech A decade ago, the elegant cobblestone streets of Macau’s Tap Seac Square were jam-packed with people clamouring for change and government accountability — the high-water mark for the former Portuguese colony’s political awakening. Now as Macau prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of its handover to China tomorrow, the territory’s democracy movement is all but over and the protests of 2014 no more than a memory. “Macau’s civil society is relatively docile and obedient, that’s the truth,” said Au Kam-san (歐錦新), 67, a schoolteacher who became one of Macau’s longest-serving pro-democracy legislators. “But if that were totally true, we wouldn’t
ROYAL TARGET: After Prince Andrew lost much of his income due to his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, he became vulnerable to foreign agents, an author said British lawmakers failed to act on advice to tighten security laws that could have prevented an alleged Chinese spy from targeting Britain’s Prince Andrew, a former attorney general has said. Dominic Grieve, a former lawmaker who chaired the British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) until 2019, said ministers were advised five years ago to introduce laws to criminalize foreign agents, but failed to do so. Similar laws exist in the US and Australia. “We remain without an important weapon in our armory,” Grieve said. “We asked for [this law] in the context of the Russia inquiry report” — which accused the government
TRUDEAU IN TROUBLE: US president-elect Donald Trump reacted to Chrystia Freeland’s departure, saying: ‘Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday quit in a surprise move after disagreeing with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over US president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats. The resignation of Freeland, 56, who also stepped down as finance minister, marked the first open dissent against Trudeau from within his Cabinet, and could threaten his hold on power. Liberal leader Trudeau lags 20 points in polls behind his main rival, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, who has tried three times since September to topple the government and force a snap election. “It’s not been an easy day,” Trudeau said at a fundraiser Monday evening, but
RSS