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France and Germany Present United Front on De-Risking China Ties

  • German foreign minister attends weekly French cabinet meeting
  • Colonna, Baerbock urge Beijing to pressure Russia over Ukraine
Annalena Baerbock and Catherine Colonna at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on May 10.
Annalena Baerbock and Catherine Colonna at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on May 10.Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

France and Germany’s top diplomats sought to present a united front on China, saying their countries must reduce their reliance on the world’s second-biggest economy and calling on Beijing to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

“We have a joint message: we are not seeking decoupling but rather to limit our dependencies when they are excessive,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Wednesday at a joint news conference with her German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, after talks in Paris. “We are talking about de-risking rather than decoupling.”