German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany June 21, 2023. REUTERS
BERLIN — Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German parliament on Thursday that he had warned China during talks earlier this week against using force to achieve territorial changes, particularly against Taiwan.
Scholz hosted a large Chinese delegation led by Premier Li Qiang in the first face-to-face summit since the pandemic this week, at a time of rising geopolitical tensions between the West and China.
“We firmly reject all unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas by force or coercion. This is especially true for Taiwan,” Scholz said, according to prepared remarks.
“We are also concerned about the human rights situation and the state of the rule of law in China,” he added.
China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has stepped up military activities near the democratically governed island to force it to accept Chinese sovereignty.
Taiwan strongly disputes Beijing’s sovereignty claims and vows to defend itself if attacked.
Speaking to lawmakers, Scholz also urged Turkey to pave the way for Sweden to become a member of the NATO alliance and said Sweden should have a seat at the table of the next NATO summit.