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Despite palpable tensions, Annalena Baerbock was not thrown out by the Chinese foreign minister during her visit to Beijing last week.
A video circulating on social platforms claims that Germany’s foreign minister was thrown out of a press conference along with German journalists after tensions boiled over during a meeting with her Chinese counterpart in Beijing.Euroverify’s analysis shows that the claims are unfounded and untrue.A reverse image search shows that the footage used in the video was in fact filmed during Baerbock’s first visit to China in April 2023.The original footage, seen here in a Euronews report, shows the then-foreign minister Qin Gang summoning Baerbock out of the room at the end of the press conference, with no indications of tensions between the two.Gang served as China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs until July 2023, when he mysteriously disappeared from public view.The Chinese government has disclosed little information about his whereabouts, prompting wild speculation.During her visit to Beijing last week, Baerbock met the current foreign minister, Wang Yi. There is no evidence to suggest she was thrown out of any meetings, despite the claims circulating widely. Euroverify saw the manipulated video on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X in four languages.Palpable tensionsDespite the false claims, tensions between Baerbock and Yi were palpable from statements made after the meeting.Baerbock slammed what she described as China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, warning that it could affect ties with Berlin and Brussels, according to a readout by the German foreign ministry.She also called out the reported use of Chinese factories to produce drones for Russia, warning it violated “our core European security interests.”Reports that Chinese companies are producing drones used in Russia’s war in Ukraine, first disclosed by Reuters, have raised the alarm in Brussels and in EU capitals.The EU’s diplomatic arm has evidence Russia has set up a China-based factory to produce drones, but is yet to confirm whether these are lethal, if they have been shipped to Russia for use on the battlefield, or whether China is aware of Moscow’s activities.Baerbock also used her visit to criticise the Chinese government for its “highly subsidised” electric car market, which is suffocating European and German businesses.
