BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German parliament on Thursday that he warned China during talks earlier this week against using force to achieve territorial changes, especially against Taiwan.
Scholz hosted a large Chinese delegation led by Premier Li Qiang for its first face-to-face summit since the pandemic this week, at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions between the West and China.
“We firmly reject all unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and South China Sea by force or coercion. This is especially true of Taiwan,” Scholz said, according to prepared remarks.
“We are also concerned about the situation of human rights and the rule of law in China,” he added.
China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has stepped up its military activities near the democratically ruled island to force it to accept Chinese sovereignty.
Taiwan adamantly rejects Beijing’s claims to sovereignty and vows to defend itself if attacked.
Speaking to the lawmakers, Scholz also urged Turkey to pave the way for Sweden to become a member of NATO, and said Sweden should have a seat at the table for the next NATO summit.
(Reporting by Andreas Reinke; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Frederik Heine)
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