BERLIN (Portal) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Bundestag in Germany on Thursday that he had warned China against using force to bring about territorial changes, particularly against Taiwan, during talks earlier this week.
Scholz hosted a large Chinese delegation led by Premier Li Qiang this week for the first in-person summit since the pandemic, at a time of rising geopolitical tensions between the West and China.
“We firmly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas by force or coercion. This is especially true for Taiwan,” Scholz said, according to prepared statements.
“We are also concerned about the human rights situation and the state of the rule of law in China,” he added.
China, which has never refrained from using force to seize Taiwan, has stepped up military activity near the democratically ruled island to force it to recognize Chinese sovereignty.
Taiwan has firmly denied Beijing’s claims to sovereignty and has promised to defend itself if attacked.
Speaking to lawmakers, Scholz also called on Turkey to pave the way for Sweden to join the NATO alliance and said Sweden should sit at the table at the next NATO summit.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; text by Matthias Williams; editing by Friederike Heine)