Weighing into Germany’s debate about its ties with China, former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder warned Berlin against demonizing Beijing, saying the two economic powers should work more closely together in the face of Donald Trump’s trade threats.
Schroeder also criticized the incumbent US Ambassador to his country, Richard Grenell, saying the US envoy’s treatment of the host country was insulting. “We can’t accept being treated like an occupied country. When I look at the behavior of the US ambassador to Germany I get the impression he sees himself as an occupying officer rather than an ambassador in a sovereign country.” the former chancellor said.
“WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHO OUR ALLIES ARE”
He warned the German government against shutting out Chinese investors. Speaking to Reuters in his office in Berlin, the former German leader said Chinese investors were preferable to American “locusts”. “We need to think about who our allies are, who has similar interests. And of course I think about China,” said Schroeder, whose staunch opposition to the looming U.S. invasion of Iraq helped secure his re-election in 2002. “Those countries that are affected by conflicts emanating from the United States will have to get closer. We can’t become part of an American trade war with China.”