German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Beijing on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 November, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. This is the first visit by a foreign head of State after the Communist Party Congress in October (see EUROPE 13044/14). Mr Scholz pleaded for cooperation between his country and China, while at the same time raising controversial issues.
The Chancellor said he wanted to “further develop” economic cooperation with Beijing. He was accompanied on this trip by a delegation of around 60 people, including several German industrial representatives, such as the car manufacturer Volkswagen and the chemical giant BASF.
In an op-ed published a few days earlier, Olaf Scholz said that he wanted to reduce dependence, especially strategic dependence, on China. Trying to find the right balance, he had said that he did not want a “decoupling” with Beijing either, which he repeated to his counterpart, Li Keqiang. He added that this went hand in hand with “economic ties as equals, with reciprocity”.
President Xi Jinping hoped that “Germany will continue to pursue a positive policy towards China”.
For Matej Šimalčík, director of the Central European Institute of Asian Studies think tank, “the decision to allow part of Hamburg’s port to be bought by Chinese company Cosco was actually a missed opportunity for Scholz to show action and translate words into action”. The Chancellor authorised this partial purchase against a background of disagreements within Germany’s coalition government (see EUROPE 13048/3).
Concern for stability and peace in the region
Olaf Scholz told the press that he had discussed with Xi Jinping the subjects that are a source of tension between his country and the West, notably the situation in Taiwan and respect for human rights in China. “I have spoken today about our growing concern for stability and peace in the region. China has a particular responsibility in this regard”, he said.
Just before his trip to Beijing, the Chancellor met with Chinese human rights activists.
The lack of intellectual property protection in China, as well as Chinese sanctions against MEPs, were also criticised by Mr Scholz in Beijing.
At the same time, in Münster, Germany, the G7 Foreign Ministers also discussed relations with China, alongside other issues (see other news). They advocated cooperation where possible and appropriate, and reiterated their concern about the human rights situation in the country and China’s intimidating behaviour towards Taiwan and Hong Kong.
“We remind China of the need to uphold the principles of the UN Charter on peaceful settlement of disputes and to abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force”, the ministers said in their joint statement.
Olaf Scholz also said he had asked Xi Jinping to use Chinese influence on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
See the G7 statement: https://aeur.eu/f/3wx (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)