Following a report that a Chinese factory produces military drones for Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Monday ( Nov. 18 ) that he would talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the delivery of dual-use goods at the G20 summit.
According to two options from a German intelligence firm, Russia has established a weapons program in China to create and manufacture long-range strike drones for use in its conflict with Ukraine.
The European Union has repeatedly urged all countries, including China, not to provide fabric or another help for Russia, which began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock previously stated that Chinese drone strikes “must and will have outcomes.”
Scholz said he had often warned against sending lethal weapons to Russia and touched on the subject of dual-use products in such discussions when asked if he would consult with his secretary and may talk with Xi about the matter.
” I have often addressed the issue of so-called dual-use products, because there are different methods, but we must never be naive”, Scholz said. He added that he would also inform Xi that the deployment of North Korean troops in the Ukraine war was a “terrible shift” and that it was intolerable.
Scholz questioned whether Germany may follow suit or give long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine in response to US decision to authorize long-range Russian airstrikes against Russia.
Germany would have to assume full power of goal command, he claimed, de facto making it a celebration to war, before Taurus missiles could be launched. ” That is something I cannot and do not want to do”, said Scholz.
He said,” At the same time, we have a clear idea that the powerful arms we have so far cannot be used to reach deeply into the Russian hinterland,” noting that he had made an exception for Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine because strikes on the town had taken place just across the nearby Russian border.