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Germany to blame, says China
19/11/2007 14:03 - (SA)
Beijing - China on Monday directly blamed a chill in ties with Germany on Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent meeting with the Dalai Lama and put the onus on Berlin to patch up relations.
"The blame is not on the Chinese side. Germany should take some concrete steps to alleviate the difficulties," a top foreign ministry official told reporters in Beijing.
"It has delayed our planned exchanges programme. If we are to proceed with the programme, we need a favourable political climate," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The comments appeared to be the most direct from China as to why it has cancelled a series of meetings with Germany.
The cancellations have since a September 23 meeting between Merkel and the Tibetan spiritual leader, whom China considers a dangerous separatist.
China had warned repeatedly that bilateral ties would suffer due to the meeting, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Saturday that Berlin was "worried" by the diplomatic spat.
Asked what steps Germany should take to mend fences, the Chinese foreign ministry official said: "It is up to Germany to decide."
Last week, Germany said China had scuttled a planned December trip to Beijing by German Finance Minister Peer Steinbruck.
At the time, China cited the "very busy schedule of the new Chinese finance minister" Xie Xuren, the German finance ministry said.
Beijing had previously pulled out of a planned meeting in October of world powers on the Iranian nuclear crisis in Berlin, forcing its cancellation.
It also axed an annual event scheduled for December in Beijing to discuss human rights and called off a Germany-China symposium scheduled for late September in Munich, citing "technical reasons".
The Dalai Lama's Berlin visit was just one of several recent audiences with world leaders that have enraged China.
He met last month with US President George W Bush in Washington and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as with Australian Prime Minister John Howard in June.
However, China's ties with Germany appear to have suffered the most.
China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and officially "liberated" it the following year. The Dalai Lama now travels the world seeking support for his calls for Tibetan autonomy.
- AFP
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