![\"\u2018Great](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/untitled-design-2026-02-25t165633.jpg\" "\\"<p>Chinese")
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, second from right meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, second left, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China (Picture credit: AP)<\/p>\n
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday called for closer cooperation with China while pressing for fairer trade rules and urging Beijing to use its influence to help end the war in Ukraine.Merz, on his first trip to China since taking office in May last year, met Premier Li Qiang and later President Xi Jinping in Beijing during a two-day visit aimed at strengthening ties with Germany\u2019s largest trading partner even as Berlin views Beijing as a systemic rival. <\/p>\n
‘Europe Won’t Be Intimidated Again!’: Germany’s Merz Issues BLUNT Warning To Trump | Watch<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a few issues that we need to talk about today in the course of my visit,\u201d Merz told Li, according to news agency AP. \u201cBut I think there is also great potential for further growth of both our economies.\u201d He added that collaboration should continue \u201cwherever possible.\u201dXi told Merz he was willing to take bilateral relations to \u201cnew levels\u201d and stressed that he \u201calways attached great importance to Sino-German relations,\u201d reported news agency AFP. Merz described the trip as a \u201cgreat opportunity\u201d to boost economic ties and said he hoped joint intergovernmental consultations, paused due to political changes and the pandemic, would resume \u201cvery soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pressing China on Ukraine<\/p>\n
Merz indicated before landing in Beijing that he would seek China\u2019s assistance in bringing about an end to Russia\u2019s four-year-old war in Ukraine.He stressed that despite differences, \u201cthe big global political problems can no longer be tackled today without involving Beijing,\u201d noting that \u201cBeijing’s voice is heard, including in Moscow.\u201dMany European governments have expressed frustration that China has not done more to pressure Russia. Beijing has maintained close diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow and says its stance on the conflict is impartial.Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said earlier this week, \u201cWe hope all parties will seize the opportunity to reach a comprehensive, lasting and binding peace agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trade tensions and tariffs backdrop<\/p>\n
Merz\u2019s visit comes amid global economic uncertainty triggered by US President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs and demands that allies shoulder more responsibility for their own security.China has sought to rally support from other nations to push back against what it sees as rising unilateralism and protectionism. In an apparent reference to the United States, Li said that \u201cunilateralism and protectionism have gained ground and even become prevalent in some countries and regions,\u201d adding that China and Germany should \u201cjointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade\u201d.Merz emphasised that Germany\u2019s China policy must be framed within a broader European approach. \u201cOur message from a European point of view is the same: We want a balanced, reliable, regulated and fair partnership with China,\u201d he said, according to AP. \u201cThis is our offer. At the same time, it is what we also hope for and expect from the Chinese side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trade imbalance and overcapacity concerns<\/p>\n
Economic imbalances remain a key sticking point. According to AP, Germany\u2019s imports from China rose 8.8 per cent to \u20ac170.6 billion ($201 billion) last year, while exports to China fell 9.7 per cent to \u20ac81.3 billion ($96 billion).Germany\u2019s trade deficit with China hit a record \u20ac89 billion ($105 billion) last year.European leaders, including Merz, are seeking improved market access for their companies and reductions in what they describe as systemic overcapacity in sectors such as electric vehicles and solar panels. \u201cWe also want to discuss how we can find a remedy, for example, where systemic overcapacities have arisen, where there are export restrictions and where there are access restrictions \u2026 that distort and prevent competition,\u201d Merz said.German industry representatives have urged Merz to address \u201covercapacity, distortions of competition, and export controls on critical raw materials,\u201d AFP reported, warning of potential new trade conflicts with the European Union if structural reforms are not undertaken.<\/p>\n
Strategic rivalry amid economic interdependence<\/p>\n
While China overtook the United States to become Germany\u2019s biggest trade partner last year, Berlin also views Beijing as a strategic and systemic rival.Merz acknowledged before departure that China \u201cclaims the right to define a new multilateral order according to its own rules,\u201d cautioning against illusions even as he stressed the need for global economic ties.The chancellor is accompanied by a large business delegation, including executives from major German automakers and industrial firms, underscoring the economic stakes of the visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chinese President Xi Jinping, second from right meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, second left, at the Diaoyutai…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,155392,155397,184,155394,155390,155391,155396,155395,85,46,155398,155399,155393],"class_list":["post-309829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-china-role-in-ukraine-war","tag-chinese-overcapacity-electric-vehicles-solar","tag-economy","tag-eu-china-trade-tensions","tag-friedrich-merz-china-visit","tag-germany-china-relations","tag-germany-china-strategic-rivalry","tag-germany-trade-deficit-with-china","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-li-qiang-xi-jinping-meeting-with-merz","tag-multilateralism-and-free-trade-germany-china","tag-sino-german-economic-ties"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}