BERLIN • Germany's incoming foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, from the Green party, has pledged "dialogue and toughness" in dealing with China, and does not rule out a boycott of Beijing's Winter Olympics.
Ms Baerbock, 40, is set to become Germany's first woman top diplomat once the new Cabinet led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz is sworn in, likely next week.
She has vowed to put human rights at the centre of German diplomacy - signalling a more assertive stance towards authoritarian regimes like China and Russia after the commerce-driven pragmatism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's 16 years in power.
"A values-driven foreign policy is always an interplay of dialogue and toughness," she told the TAZ newspaper in an interview on Wednesday. "Eloquent silence is not a form of diplomacy in the long run, even if some have seen it that way in recent years."
Ms Baerbock, who studied international law, singled out China's treatment of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang, the detention of Chinese journalist Zhang Zhan and the uncertainty over tennis star Peng Shuai's well-being as areas of concern.
European Union nations should speak as one and use the bloc's leverage as a major economic power in their dealings with Beijing, Ms Baerbock said, raising the prospect of import restrictions.
"If there is no longer access for products from regions like Xinjiang, where forced labour is common practice, that is a big problem for an exporting country like China," she said. "Of course, it will only work if all 27 member states pull together," she added.
Ms Baerbock indicated that she was not dismissing a boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics.
"We should take a closer look at the Olympic Games," she said. "There are different ways for governments to handle this, which will certainly be discussed in the coming weeks."
United States President Joe Biden said last month that he was considering a diplomatic boycott of the event to protest against China's rights abuses, which would see government representatives avoid February's Games while US athletes would still compete. China rejects the rights accusations and has said that "politicising sports goes against the Olympic spirit".
Turning to Russia, Ms Baerbock reiterated her opposition to the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is set to double Russia's natural gas exports to Germany.
The recently completed pipeline - which is still awaiting approval from regulators - has long irked Germany's allies who claim it will make Europe too reliant on Russian energy and be used by Moscow for political gain.
Ms Baerbock said the geopolitical security concerns over Nord Stream 2 - "the reason why our partners in Central and Eastern Europe are so massively against this pipeline" - must be discussed "at the European level in the coming months".
It is a remarkable rebound for the Green party co-leader whose election campaign was derailed by a series of missteps that dashed her hopes of replacing Dr Merkel as chancellor.
Ms Baerbock will be Germany's second Green foreign minister, following in the footsteps of party veteran Joschka Fischer who served under Mr Gerhard Schroeder from 1998 to 2005. The mother of two is described as quick on her feet and tenacious, with a meticulous attention to policy details.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
