China and Germany Patch Up Quarrel Over Merkel Policy – Judy Dempsey

From The International Herald Tribune:

Germany and China agreed Monday to heal a rift that opened after Beijing suspended most high-level contacts to protest Chancellor Angela Merkel’s meeting last year with the Dalai Lama and her human rights policies.

The thaw was announced after it was confirmed that Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, had secretly met his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, late last year to pledge that Berlin supported fully the one-China policy that stipulates that Tibet and Taiwan are part of China. China regards the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, as a separatist who is intent on establishing an independent country. [Full Text]