China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian speaks at a news conference in Beijing, on March 18, 2022. File photo: CG Rawlins, Reuters.
China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the US has “no right” to interfere with its “cooperation” with Germany.
Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian described US interference as coercive diplomacy, speaking to reporters on Thursday in Beijing.
The statement came after Washington “strongly suggested” that Beijing would not get a controlling stake in a controversial deal over a terminal at the port in Hamburg.
Chinese shipping giant Cosco made a bid last year to take a 35% stake in Hamburg port terminal, but Germany’s coalition has been divided over whether to let the deal go ahead.
“Pragmatic cooperation between China and Germany is a matter for the two sovereign countries,” Zhao said.
“The United States should not attack it without reason and has no right to meddle and interfere.”
Germany may allow China’s Cosco to take a smaller stake – 24.9%– than originally planned in the port terminal, in what an economy ministry source last week described as an “emergency solution” to approve the deal but mitigate the impact.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to visit Beijing on Friday, where he is expected to meet President Xi Jinping.
CATL showed off the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Shenxing Plus battery on the first media…
The US Secretary of State is in Shanghai as the two superpowers continue to defrost…
China says its fully homegrown brain-computer interface was tested on a monkey, allowing it to…
After Biden's swift presidential endorsement, attention is now turning to whether TikTok can win a…
Washington has been lobbying the Dutch to prevent ASML from servicing some of the billions of euros…
Zap Energy claims its approach would be capable of delivering limitless clean power at a…