By IRNA
Berlin : German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi have expressed their interest in a “good and close partnership”, declaring an official end to the dispute over the Dalai Lama’s meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin last September.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Steinmeier at the foreign ministry in Berlin on Tuesday, Yang said Beijing was interested in promoting bilateral ties based on “mutual respect and non-interference.”
The Chinese minister added that Berlin had reiterated its commitment to a “one China policy”, meaning it would not back a likely Taiwanese referendum or separatist moves by Tibet.
Yang who was to attend the 5 plus 1 talks on Iran, voiced his country’s “readiness” to upgrade German-Chinese relations and confront common international challenges.
Meanwhile, the German foreign minister pointed out that the meeting with Yang “signalled the normalization” of bilateral ties.
Referring to several months of problems between Germany and China over the Dalai Lama visit, Steinmeier urged now the expansion of Berlin-Beijing relations.
Steinmeier launched a two-month secret diplomatic initiative last November aimed at mending fences with China.
Both foreign ministers had also exchanged a series of letters geared at normalizing ties.
Although Merkel was informed of the secret meeting and the letter exchange, she was not briefed on the details of the sensitive initiative.
The chancellor reaffirmed earlier that there had been no change on her position on the Dalai Lama.
Speaking at a press briefing in Berlin, Merkel said, “Everything has been said regarding this issue. Friendships have to endure differences.”
Merkel’s remarks on China followed recent comments by Steinmeier who openly acknowledged earlier that Berlin-Beijing relations were in “deep turmoil” in the wake of the official Dalai Lama meeting.
The chancellor and her foreign minister were involved in a major feud over the China policy in recent weeks.
Merkel has strongly defended her decision to meet with the Dalai Lama.
“As chancellor, I decide whom I meet and where I meet them. I wish everyone in the government would keep to this position because otherwise China’s respect for us will not increase,” she was quoted saying.
Her remarks were clearly aimed at Steinmeier who has criticized Merkel for trying to “showcase” the human rights issue as part of her wider public relations strategy in the field of German foreign policy.
The Merkel-Steinmeier dispute comes at at time where both coalition partners are getting ready for the 2009 election campaign with the Social Democrats (SPD) trailing by a wide margin in all opinion polls over the past weeks.
Although SPD chairman Kurt Beck is still a front-runner for the chancellor’s job, Merkel views also Steinmeier as a serious contender for the chancellor’s post in Germany.