German Foreign Minister Calls President Xi Jinping Dictator, China: Open Provocation

JAKARTA - China lodged a strong protest against Germany, after the country's foreign minister called President Xi Jinping a 'dictator', considering it an open and unreasonable political provocation.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made this mention in a live interview with Fox News last week, when she was asked about Russia's war in Ukraine.

"If Putin wins this war, is that a sign for other dictators in the world, like Xi, like the Chinese president?" She said, as reported by Reuters, September 19.

Responding to this, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Foreign Minister Baerbock's statement was "completely unreasonable" and violated China's political dignity.

"It was an open political provocation," Mao said at a regular press conference, adding China had lodged a protest against Germany.

Foreign Minister Baerbock herself is known to be a vocal critic of China.

In August, she said China posed a challenge to "the very foundations of how we live together in this world".

Earlier, she described aspects of the trip to China as "more than surprising", saying Beijing was increasingly becoming a rival.

Foreign Minister Baerbock is not alone in calling President Xi a dictator. In July, US President Joe Biden also called Xi a "dictator" a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a visit to China aimed at stabilizing relations between the two countries.