Munich’s former Hotel Bayerischer Hof, which opened in 1841 and was almost completely destroyed by British bombing in 1944, has seen its fair share of ghost sightings.
But over the past weekend, I was haunted by the possibility of a different kind of ghost.
Donald Trump, the former US president and likely Republican candidate for November’s US election, did not attend the 60th Munich Security Conference, but his absence was a major concern for Ukraine, Gaza, and Europe’s national security. permeated through tense conversations about the ability to deliver.
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday spoke out, upset over Trump’s possible return to the presidency and following his Feb. 10 pledge to “encourage” Russia to attack NATO allies that have failed to meet their financial obligations. This was an attempt to reassure European citizens.
“In these uncertain times, it is clear that America cannot back down. America must stand strong for democracy. We must uphold international rules and norms and stand with our allies,” Harris said. Stated.
But on Sunday, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio painted a different picture of the future, saying, “I can’t speak for Donald Trump, but I think so.” [Trump] agree with what I say. ”
“I don’t think we should leave NATO, I don’t think we should abandon Europe. But I certainly think we should change direction. The United States should focus more on East Asia. That’s the future of U.S. foreign policy for the next 40 years, and Europe has to wake up to that fact,” Vance said at a conference known as the “Davos of national defense.”
Against this background, China was removed from the summit’s agenda, and the presence of Chinese officials was less prominent than in previous years. Nevertheless, a sizable Chinese delegation remains active in Munich, participating in private and public events and capitalizing on European fears about a possible American withdrawal from the continental theater. I tried.
“No matter how the world changes, China will remain a responsible great power.” [that] “China will maintain its main principles and policies with consistency and stability…China will be a force for stability in a turbulent world,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told an audience on Saturday.
This speech contained many thinly veiled abuse directed at the United States, and implicitly threatened China not to cross Taiwan, which is a red line that China should not cross. Observers believe the tone was softer than Wang’s speech a year ago, partly because he has loosened up. .
Wang Yi gives a speech at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel, venue of the 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC), on February 17th. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Wang Yi giving a speech at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel, venue of the 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC). Munich Security Conference (MSC), February 17. Photo: EPA-EFE>
People in the audience said Wang’s eyes were fixed on U.S. officials in the audience as he spoke about “promoting Sino-American relations along lines of mutual respect.”
Former Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González told the South China Morning Post on the sidelines of the event: “We are living in a moment where we see cooperation, competition and competition, to varying degrees, across all topics. There is,” he said.
“I would say that China’s actions towards Russia had a slightly different tone than Wang Yi here…He did not talk about an open-ended partnership with Russia.”
The Chinese government has dispatched three delegations to the Bavarian capital, with one group led by Wang, a second group led by military personnel, and a third group led by former deputy foreign minister Fu Ying, the people said. It consists of think tankers and academics.
Amid the diplomatic turmoil, Mr. Wang has evacuated at least 10 foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba, and many others, including Germany’s Olaf Scholz and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic. He met with world leaders.
Other Chinese delegates met behind closed doors with European academics and lawmakers who have been sanctioned by the Chinese government, and discussed ways to talk and potentially lift the sanctions.
In a dimly lit room deep inside the Bayerischer Hof Palace, the China Center for Globalization (CCG), a state-backed think tank, hosted a roundtable to encourage “climate change cooperation in the era of great power politics.”
This discussion on how China, the EU and the US can “embrace trilateral climate cooperation in the current tense geopolitical environment” includes German climate envoy Jennifer Morgan and prominent Many Western officials and scholars attended, including historian Nile. Ferguson and Graham Allison.
“I think climate is probably the most common threat to humanity. I hope we can move forward beyond our geopolitical differences…We have to work together,” said Huiyao Wang, CCG Chairman. said.
Hildegard Bentele, a German member of the European Parliament, has previously spoken out against Europe’s dependence on China for important minerals, but said she would “advocate for more active global cooperation with China in the European Union”. said.
“We hope to see more activity in international negotiations and in permanent negotiations with China,” Bentele said.
However, on the ground, the situation was a little more dire.
Lars Klingbeil, co-leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, became embroiled in a heated exchange with former diplomat Hu when he warned Beijing not to attack Taiwan.
“Attacking Taiwan would completely change our relationship with China. We clearly understand this,” Klingbeil said.
“You said, and I agree, that Taiwan and Ukraine are different issues. But I think both are relevant to the question of whether we have a multilateral rules-based order. I think you are,” he said to Fu.
“Is it normal to change borders by military action? That has to be a clear ‘no’. It is not OK to change borders by military action.”
This remark received a harsh rebuke from Fu, who said, “I have to start by correcting Mr. Klingbeil, but there is no border between the mainland and Taiwan.”
Asked whether China would accept a “code of conduct” for the region, Foreign Minister Wang brushed off the host’s questions about Taiwan and the South China Sea and laughed in his face.
At private events, there was heated debate over autonomous islands. In one instance, a prominent EU lawmaker became embroiled in a full-scale spat with a Chinese academic over the issue, attendees said.
On another sensitive topic, Fu was asked if he knew the whereabouts of former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who disappeared from public view before being stripped of his post in June.
“You come from the Washington Post, so I think you know him better than I do,” Hu told reporters. “And since you are a journalist, you must have heard the reaction of the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. There is no need for me to repeat it.”
Close ties between China and Russia were the subtext of much of the conference’s discussion.
“Geopolitics is the first thing that comes to mind in the conversations I’ve had, China is part of it, Russia is part of it… how different players in the world are viewed. We found that there are very nuanced differences in how well people are doing,” Chief Margrethe Vestager told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
Red flags were raised over the weekend about China-Moscow relations, even as Wang met with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba and vowed not to sell “lethal weapons” to either side in the war with Russia. .
A series of European officials, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, have warned that China is watching closely to see whether Western countries remain united on Ukraine.
“All other adversaries of authoritarianism are watching very closely to see whether democracies come together,” she said.
Gonzalez, a former Spanish foreign minister, said China’s economy’s overcapacity, as well as geopolitics, is a major barrier to cooperation with China.
“There is room for everyone because we need to decarbonize the world, but if there is no fairness in the terms of trade, trade will take place in a non-cooperative manner and unilateral measures will be taken to manage it. It will be taken away,” he said.
“This is the message the EU is sending to China. [do something about overcapacity] Otherwise, we will have to use the tools at our disposal to fight what Europe sees as unfair conditions. ”
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative news organization on China and Asia for more than a century. For more stories from SCMP, explore the SCMP app or visit SCMP on Facebook. twitter page. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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