Annalena Barebock’s China Trip Shows Her Talent and Her Limitations

Ms. Barebock, considered a China hawk in Germany, has had to strike a balance. She wants to stay true to her principles, while simultaneously defending the interests of German business and criticizing alleged anti-China tactics from her Green Party coalition partner, the conservative wing of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She has been successful at best in sticking to her first instincts. Even as a candidate for chancellor last year, he advocated “dialogue and hardness” in relations with China. At the joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on April 14, his tone certainly made his voice more gruff. He warned that unilateral or violent changes to Taiwan’s status would be “unacceptable”, stressed respect for the rights of the Uighurs, an oppressed Muslim minority, and urged the Chinese to use their influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. called upon. ,

Her tendency to call a spade a spade is admired by those who are annoyed by Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor’s tendency to talk like a robot (“Scholzomat”) and his tendency to hesitate in foreign affairs. She scores well in popularity rankings. , though not like a few months ago, thanks to various minor missteps and a general waning of enthusiasm among more pacifist Green voters, despite their party’s strong support for Ukraine and the relative neglect of its core environmental agenda. Cause . Her most ardent fans see her as the next Chancellor of Germany. That would require his party to rebuild its strength and nominate him instead of Economy Minister Robert Habeck as its candidate for chancellor in the next election in 2025. Both are big ifs.

There is no doubt that Ms. Barebock will love the top job in 2021, despite her disappointing experience. His campaign was then plagued by allegations of plagiarism in his book, that he had embellished his CV and that he only reported some additional income. And she knows she’s still prone to gaffes. For example, she said on French television in January that she saw no problem with Poland sending German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine: this was before Mr Scholz gave the green light, thus the chancellor and his entourage Was troubling a lot.

Yet Ms. Barebock’s slips are also a part of what many ordinary people feel they can relate to. Unlike Mr. Scholz, who flinches at the sight of a reporter, she delights in speaking at high speed (sometimes slurring her words) in off-the-record chats with gaggles of reporters. She easily connects with people from all walks of life. She tries to maintain a semblance of normality with her family, going on bike rides with her two young daughters (plus bodyguards) around Potsdam, the historic city where she lives southwest of Berlin. . Although she was born in Hanover, she occasionally slips into Berlinerish, the city’s idiosyncratic dialect.

In her time in office, and even as a candidate to become chancellor, she has become closer to German business than many expected for an idealistic Green. It will serve him well in his ambition for the top prize. On his visit to China, he visited Flender, a manufacturer of wind turbines, Vitesco, a car-parts supplier, and Volkswagen (VW). This, she says, should give them a better understanding of what it’s like to work in a country that offers an uneven playing field to foreign investors. German companies such as big carmakers VW, Daimler and BMW, as well as chemical giant BASF, are still investing in China with little enthusiasm, despite legal risks, international tensions and constant surveillance of their employees by the Chinese state. Last year, German direct investment reached a record €11.5bn ($12.6bn). BASF is plowing €10 billion into a new production site in southern China. VW is looking to invest €2.4bn in a joint venture for self-driving cars.

only she can play second fiddle

Ms. Barebock’s biggest frustration is that she is not chancellor. Since the days of Konrad Adenauer after the war, Germany’s chancellor has called the shots in some of the most important decisions in foreign policy. Most recently, this has included supplying tanks to Ukraine and approving Chinese investment in the port of Hamburg. Tension between the Chancellor and the Foreign Ministry is the main reason for the delay in agreeing on Germany’s national security strategy and China’s strategy. In both cases the Ministry of External Affairs is drafting the document, taking the views of others involved; But the final decision rests with the Chancellor. The idea of ​​creating an American-style National Security Council has already been swamped by disagreements over whether it should fall within Mr. Scholz’s fiefdom or Ms. Bierbock’s.

Ms. Barebock, 42, has surprised many with her typically strong performance as foreign minister. Blinken recently wrote of him in a brief profile in Time, an American weekly, “When I think about what makes me optimistic at this point in time, it’s a partner who is so at ease with principle and blends practicality.” The government of Angela Merkel, who treated China with kid gloves throughout her years as chancellor. These days she is speaking more like Ms. Barebock on China. This makes it easier for him to stick to his “dialogue and brutality” course. , But ultimately the biggest decision on how Germany deals with China will still be decided in the Chancellery.

Read more from Charlemagne, our columnist on European politics:

How Europe is paving its way to better air quality (13 April)

Europe unprepared for what could happen next in America (30 March)

Cucumber Saudis: How the Dutch Got So Good at Cultivation (March 23)

Also: How Charlemagne’s Column got its name

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