‘Extremely ridiculous’ and ‘an open political provocation’ – Chinese MOFA spox protests over German FM’s ‘dictator Xi’ remark

« Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has lodged a complaint with Germany following a remark made by the country’s foreign minister, referring to President Xi Jinping as a ‘dictator’, speaking during a daily briefing in Beijing on Monday.
“The remarks made by the German side are extremely ridiculous, seriously infringe upon China’s political dignity, and are an open political provocation. China has made solemn representations to Germany through diplomatic channels,” Mao Ning said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the Chinese president a ‘dictator’ last week during an interview with the US broadcaster Fox News. Baerbock said, « If Russian President Vladimir Putin wins the war in Ukraine, what kind of sign would that be for other dictators in the world, such as Xi, China’s president? That’s why Ukraine must win the war. »
Regarding recent tensions with Taiwan, Mao Ning emphasised that Taiwan is considered part of Chinese territory, and there is no symbolic median line in the Taiwan Strait, dismissing it as a diplomatic issue.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said 40 planes crossed the symbolic median line between mainland China and the island.
« Taiwan is part of Chinese territory, and there is no so-called symbolic median line of the Taiwan Strait, ” Mao Ning said and added that the matter is not a diplomatic issue.
Mao Ning also accused the New York Times of fabricating and spreading false information, after the newspaper published an article on China’s disinformation on a ‘weather weapon’ used by the USA, the spokesperson asserted that the theory originated from US media, and Chinese media simply quoted those reports. »



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