China'

Germany's visiting Minister of Education and Research says "professional
exchanges" were the focus of her trip to Taiwan this week and not the issue
of China.

Bettina Stark-Watzinger told reporters that her visit was in line with
Berlin's China policy and she expected it to be "transparent and professional
with no surprises."

Stark-Watzinger said she consulted with both German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
and the country's foreign minister before her visit - and the "focus is
professional exchanges and the issue of China is not the topic here."

Stark-Watzinger is the first German federal minister to visit Taipei since
1997.

The German delegation signed a science and technology agreement and held
talks with Education Minister Pan Wen-chung to exchange views on Chinese
language education and academic semiconductor institutions during its two-day
trip to Taipei.

China's Foreign Ministry earlier this week expressed Beijing's "strong
disapproval" of Stark-Watzinger's "reprehensible" act of visiting Taipei and
called on Berlin to "respect the One China principle."