The AfD’s unusual China connection
Summary
- Alice Weidel, leader of Germany's AfD, spent six years in People's Republic
There are many things that make Alice Weidel an unconventional leader for a German political party on the hard right. Though her marriage to a Sri Lankan-born woman draws most attention, many in government and business circles are equally intrigued by the time she spent in China before entering politics. Ms Weidel lived there for about six years from around 2006, and learned to speak Mandarin before moving home and joining the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in 2013.
She started out in China on a German government scholarship and stayed to write a doctoral thesis on its pension system, entitled “Reform options from a regulatory-theory perspective to increase risk resistance". Even more unusually for a German politician, she is also reported to have worked for the state-owned Bank of China. And, though there are few public details about what exactly she did in that job, she has said that she learned much from her experience in China and wants to improve bilateral ties.
Such comments have made her a celebrity on Chinese social media, where many call her “The Iron Lady"—a nickname also given to Margaret Thatcher—and express admiration for AfD policies (despite its hostility to immigration). Chinese state media have also noted with approval Ms Weidel’s pragmatic attitude towards China. The Chinese embassy in Germany even quotes her on its website saying that she found “many things worthy of praise" in China, and had noted China’s “leading position in patents and innovation".
That has raised eyebrows among some Western security officials who monitor China’s efforts to influence politics in Europe. They note the AfD’s aversion to criticising China, for instance on its position on Ukraine. Such concerns burst into public view last year when German authorities arrested an assistant to a senior AfD leader on suspicion of spying for China.
None of that seems to have cost the AfD votes in Germany’s election on February 23rd. But it does raise questions about its links to the American right, most of which is far more hawkish on China. Those links became visible in mid-February when America’s vice-president, J.D. Vance, voiced support for the AfD and met Ms Weidel. Perhaps he should have looked more closely at the AfD’s election platform, which says it wants to “expand our economic, scientific and cultural contacts with China".
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