Annalena Baerbock’s trip to China shows her talent and her limitations

IT WAS ANGSPD idyllic scene in Karuizawa, a mountain resort not far from Tokyo. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and cherry trees still in blossom, a group of children struck up jolly tunes on their violins for the foreign ministers of the 7 group of industrialised countries who had just got off the , Japan’s famous high-speed train. Holding a bouquet of yellow flowers, Annalena Baerbock was beaming. Germany’s foreign minister seemed relieved to be surrounded by Antony Blinken and her other counterparts from friendly countries. Behind her was the most difficult trip of her 16 months in the job: a visit to China.Considered in Germany to be a hawk on China, Ms Baerbock has had to strike a balance. She wants to stay true to her principles, yet also to defend the interests of German business and rebut criticism of her supposedly anti-China strategy from the conservative wing of the Social Democratic Party (), her Green party’s coalition partner. She has managed best to stick to her first instinct. Even as a candidate for chancellor last year she had advocated “dialogue and toughness” in relations with China. At her joint press conference on April 14th with Qin Gang, her Chinese counterpart, her tone certainly made her sound more of a hawk. She warned that a unilateral or violent change in the status of Taiwan would be “unacceptable”, she insisted on respect for the rights of the Uyghurs, a repressed Muslim minority, and called on the Chinese to use their influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine.