Beijing: China on Monday lodged a diplomatic protest with Germany over its Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock labelling President Xi Jinping as a dictator.

“If (President Vladimir) Putin were to win this war, what sign would that be for other dictators in the world, like Xi, like the Chinese president? Therefore, Ukraine has to win this war,” Baerbock said in an interview on Friday during her trip to the US.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry took exception to Baerbock’s remarks, saying that the comments were an “open political provocation.” “We deplore and reject the remarks by the German side which are preposterous and extremely irresponsible,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said while responding to a question at a media briefing on the German Minister’s comments.

Press Trust of India