German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pointed out this Friday in Beijing the problems generated by the war in Ukraine, while Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of Germany and China working together for peace.
Scholz’s visit to Beijing comes at a time of growing Western mistrust of the Asian country, given its rapprochement with Russia and human rights violations.
Although the Scholz government has already shown signs of moving away from the purely commercial approach to China cultivated by her predecessor Angela Merkel, the German chancellor is accompanied by a business delegation, including the CEOs of Volkswagen, BioNtech or Siemens.
Scholz was received by Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in the center of the Chinese capital.
The Chinese leader stressed that Scholz’s visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, established in a period of fierce rivalry, in the midst of the Cold War, but which allowed the cultivation of economic exchange, which remains a fundamental part of the relationship. .
“The current international situation is complex and volatile,” Xi told Scholz, quoted by state broadcaster CCTV, without mentioning the war in Ukraine. “As influential powers, China and Germany should work together, in these times of change and chaos, to contribute more to world peace and development.”
Scholz directly referred Xi Jinping to the conflict in Ukraine, which has spawned millions of refugees and rattled global food and energy markets. “We meet in a period of great tension,” recalled the chancellor, quoted by the German news agency DPA.
“In particular, I want to highlight the Russian war against Ukraine, which presents many problems for the rules-based world order,” he added.
Scholz also addressed global food shortages, climate change and the sovereign debt crisis in developing countries as “important issues”, DPA reported.
The German leader has come under fire for visiting China shortly after Xi, 69, won a third term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and elevated allies to the top of China’s power structure who support his vision of tighter control over China’s society and society. the economy and a more confrontational approach to the West.
The measure also comes in a context of growing tensions between China and Taiwan and after a UN report considered that abuses against ethnic minorities of Muslim origin in the Xinjiang region, in northwestern China, could constitute ” crimes against humanity.”
Scholz joined a dozen German business leaders, including the CEOs of Volkswagen, BMW, BASF, Bayer and Deutsche Bank, most of whom have big interests in China.
This raised questions about Germany’s over-reliance on the Chinese market, similar to what happened to Russia for energy supplies.
After lunch, Scholz and his delegation met with Premier Li Keqiang, nominally responsible for China’s economy.
Despite political differences, Scholz’s visit reflects the importance of Germany’s trade ties with the world’s second-largest economy.
China was Germany’s largest trading partner in 2021 for the sixth consecutive year. The Asian country was the main origin of German imports and the second destination of exports, after the United States.
In an article published by the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Scholz stressed the importance of visiting China in this period.
“It is clear that if China changes, the way we deal with China must also change,” the foreign minister said, adding that his country “will reduce unilateral dependencies, in the spirit of smart diversification.”
Scholz also said he would address “difficult issues” such as the rights of Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
This is the first visit to China by a European leader and a country from the G7 group (seven largest economies in the world), since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trip comes at a time when the European Union and Germany are readjusting their approach to China.
A senior German official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, characterized the visit as a “scouting trip” to find out “where China is, where China is going and what forms of cooperation are possible with this China in particular, in the current world situation”.
The official pointed to the “particular responsibility” of Beijing, as an ally of Russia, to help end the war in Ukraine and pressure Moscow to soften its nuclear rhetoric.
The chancellor will also seek to “balance” economic relations.
In view of the highly restrictive measures to prevent Covid-19 in force in China, the German delegation will not spend the night in Beijing.
Source: TSF
