Former SPD Leader Martin Schulz's Controversial Engagement with China During Pandemic

Berlin/Peking - A recent revelation has surfaced regarding Martin Schulz, the former leader of the SPD and a prominent candidate for Chancellor, who currently heads the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a foundation affiliated with the party. A letter from January 2021, sent during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has drawn attention due to Schulz's overtly favorable remarks towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Shortly after his election to the board of the foundation in December 2020, Schulz reached out to Song Tao, the head of the CCP's International Department, introducing himself in a manner that many now view as excessively deferential. The brief letter, comprising only three paragraphs, has raised eyebrows for its content.

In his correspondence, Schulz commended the "close exchange" between the CCP's International Department and the SPD, emphasizing the importance of "party dialogues" and "trusting personal conversations" that the foundation facilitates. Notably, he also praised China for its stringent COVID-19 policies, claiming that the country had effectively managed to curb the virus's spread even before vaccines were authorized, expressing his congratulations on this achievement.

This assessment has sparked outrage among experts on China. Adrian Geiges, a noted author and China specialist, described Schulz's letter as shocking yet not surprising, highlighting a long-standing trend within the SPD of eroding boundaries with authoritarian regimes. Geiges criticized Schulz's remarks regarding China's pandemic response as deeply misleading, pointing out that the measures he praised involved severe lockdowns and the detention of infected individuals, which he argued contributed to a global health crisis.

Geiges asserted that the CCP bears significant responsibility for the pandemic's global spread, citing its initial cover-up of cases in Wuhan and the persecution of whistleblower doctors. He expressed concern that Schulz's letter represents a broader era of naivety and ignorance regarding totalitarian regimes.

Miriam Lexmann, a member of the European Parliament, echoed these sentiments, suggesting that Europe had become overly reliant on Russian gas and Chinese exports, failing to recognize how such dependencies could undermine democratic values and security.

In response to inquiries about Schulz's current views on China's pandemic policies and the broader implications of his earlier comments, a spokesperson for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung stated that the foundation maintains extensive contacts with China, similar to other political foundations and parties. The spokesperson emphasized the foundation's commitment to fostering dialogue while addressing systemic differences and contentious issues with Chinese counterparts, although specific answers to the questions were not provided.

Geiges, who has lived in China for a decade and authored several books on the subject, continues to criticize the engagement of European politicians with the CCP, suggesting that it often overlooks serious human rights violations and other critical issues.