China complains to Germany after foreign minister calls Xi a ‘dictator’

“If Putin were to win this war, what sign would that be for other dictators in the world, like Xi, like the Chinese president?” she said.
Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said Baerbock’s remarks were “extremely absurd” and infringed on China’s political dignity.

“They are an open political provocation,” Mao told a regular press briefing, adding that China had complained to Germany.
Baerbock is an outspoken critic of China.

In August, she said China posed a challenge to the “fundamentals of how we live together in this world”. Earlier, she described aspects of a trip to China as “more than shocking” and said Beijing was increasingly becoming more of a systemic rival than a trade partner.
In June, U.S. President Joe Biden also called Xi a “dictator” a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to China aimed at stabilising ties.

(Reporting by Liz Lee, Ethan Wang and Bernard Orr; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Miral Fahmy)

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