German foreign minister urges caution in China relationship

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The German foreign minister says her country must avoid repeating with China the mistakes it made in its relationship with Russia over recent years. Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday that Germany must face up to a “competition of systems” between countries that believe in international law and cooperation and authoritarian regimes. German governments over the past two decades strengthened links with Russia — particularly in the energy sector. Berlin has scrambled to find replacement gas supplies as relations nosedived following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; Russia hasn’t delivered gas to Germany since the end of August. German companies have invested heavily in China in recent years, and China is one of Germany’s biggest trading partners.