Angela Merkel is a heroine. She wasn't scared off by Beijing's warnings and threats. She did what she thought was right. She received the Dalai Lama at the Berlin Chancellery. But the question is -- does Germany need a heroine or a cool-headed, calculating defender of German interests?

It is a heroic act to flout convention -- to do something unthinkable. And Angela Merkel did exactly that -- she flouted convention. It is the first time a German head of government has received the man whom Beijing has tried to isolate as a separatist for decade. But now Beijing has fallen into the trap of its own propaganda. It makes no difference that the Dalai Lama is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and respected as a spiritual authority by millions of people all over the world.

The Communist Party has abused its ideological authority. The reasons for its leadership are becoming ever slimmer in the new capitalist China. What keeps it there is the impression that only the Communist Party can keep China's unity together. This is why Beijing reacts so strongly every time separatist tendencies gain momentum in Taiwan. And that's why Beijing is so sensitive about the visit of the Dalai Lama -- the face of Tibetan autonomy -- to the German Chancellery.

Beijing is hoping for a biological solution to its worries with the modest, smiling man in the red robe. The Dalai Lama is 72 years old. Who will be interested in Tibetan resistance against the excesses of China's occupation of Tibet when he's not around? Beijing was able to prevent a trip by the Dalai Lama to Belgium in spring. But now the regime fears there could be a domino effect -- other European leaders could also decide to receive Tibet's spiritual leader. Chinese Internet users can currently curse Angela Merkel without fear of upsetting the censor. This is probably why Beijing cancelled a bilateral judiciary dialogue with the German minister of justice, Brigitte Zypries, at the last minute.

The economic situation has also shown signs of being a tad worried. But a quick glance to Japan could appease any such fears -- despite serious political differences between Beijing and Tokyo, Chinese-Japanese trade is flourishing.

The danger lies elsewhere. At the end of her trip to China, Merkel was still in everybody's good books. She had managed to broach crucial matters in her modest way and had always argued with China's interests in mind. So her messages hit home. But now Beijing feels conned and Merkel might be banished as a potential dialogue partner in future.

That would be a shame. Because none of the world's problems -- from climate change, to the nuclear question in Iran and North Korea, to the reforms of the United Nations -- can be solved without China.

Merkel was right to receive the Dalai Lama. It's good when foreign policy has values. But -- she could have found a more neutral location for her "private" exchange of ideas than the Chancellery. That might have mitigated China's anger somewhat but taken nothing away from the substance of her meeting with the Dalai Lama.