July 14, 2023
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) notes that the government of the Federal Republic of Germany adopted its first Strategy on China on July 13, which was announced by Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock. The strategy stresses the importance of security across the Taiwan Strait, supports Taiwan’s pragmatic involvement in international organizations, recognizes Taiwan as an important trade and technological cooperation partner, and maintains that Germany will continue to deepen relations with Taiwan. MOFA welcomes and appreciates this strategy.
The document points out that China has changed, so Germany needs to change its approach—demonstrating its pragmatism in dealing with China. The strategy also states that Germany will as far as possible mitigate risks and become less dependent in its interactions with China and ensure that corporate supply chains are more secure and uphold human rights.
Earlier in June, the German federal government published its National Security Strategy, stating that Beijing is attempting to leverage its economic clout to achieve political goals. It also observed that China’s role as a competitor and systemic rival has gradually eclipsed its role as a partner. The Strategy on China gives further details on Germany’s policy position and underlines its concern over security across the Taiwan Strait.
As a responsible and democratic member of the Indo-Pacific community, Taiwan will spare no effort to work with Germany and other like-minded partners to defend the rules-based international security order, deepen cooperation on all aspects of democratic supply chains, strengthen global democratic resilience, and jointly counter the challenges of authoritarian expansion.