Chinese President Xi Jinping told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz their nations should unite for peace in a “chaotic” world, a call for closer ties that comes amid strains between Brussels and Beijing.
(Bloomberg) — Chinese President Xi Jinping told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz their nations should unite for peace in a “chaotic” world, a call for closer ties that comes amid strains between Brussels and Beijing.
The two leaders held their first in-person talks since Scholz took office Friday in Beijing, with the German delegation including top executives from BASF SE, Volkswagen AG, Deutsche Bank AG and BioNTech SE. Scholz is the first major European leader to visit China in more than two years, as Xi returns to in-person diplomacy after his long spell of self-imposed Covid isolation stifled such exchanges.
“As influential major powers, China and Germany should work together in this chaotic and changing situation to make more contributions to world peace and development,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster China Central Television. He added that their talks would facilitate the “next stage” of China-German relations.
The German leader said his visit came at a “time of great tension,” as Russia’s war in Ukraine challenged the rules-based order, and stressed the importance of face-to-face dialogue. “We can now talk concretely and directly with each other to respond to the challenges the world is facing and the bilateral relations between Europe and China,” Scholz said.
He added that the two men would also discuss furthering bilateral economic ties. Scholz is also expected to meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, before departing Beijing this evening.
Xi has engaged in a flurry of diplomacy this week, hosting top foreign leaders from Vietnam, Pakistan and Tanzania as he begins a third term in office focused on increasing China’s global influence. The Chinese leader didn’t leave his nation for two years after Covid emerged, a period that saw Beijing’s ties with the West sour over Xi’s crackdown on Hong Kong, treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang and refusal to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Later this month, Xi is expected to expand that outreach campaign at major summits in Thailand and Indonesia, where he could sit down with President Joe Biden for the first time since the US leader took power. That meeting could ease hostilities between the world’s two largest economies, which have reached a new low during the pandemic.
Still, while Xi appears to have eased his own virus restrictions, meeting dignitaries in person and appearing unmasked in public, China remains in the grip of his Covid Zero policy that’s weighed on the economy. The German delegation had to take two PCR tests before arriving in Beijing, and another on arrival. Workers wearing hazmat suits were seen rolling out a red carpet for Scholz’s delegation.
Xi’s efforts to solidify ties with Germany this week are part of a broader push to prevent relations with the European Union from further deteriorating. Last year, the EU halted an investment agreement with China after both sides traded sanctions over Xinjiang, where the US has accused Beijing of genocide. China denies such allegations.
For its part, Berlin is working to hone a new national strategy on China that aims to weaken reliance, diversify supply chains and enhance security, while reinforcing business ties. That leaves Scholz walking a fine line between pushing trade ties in Beijing, while voicing concerns on sensitive allegations of human rights violations by China.
“China remains an important economic and trading partner for Germany and Europe, even under changed circumstances,” Scholz wrote in a guest article for German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Wednesday that Berlin was seeking cooperation with China. “We do not want decoupling.”
China will be looking to reassure foreign business leaders that it’s open for investment and trade, despite its Covid Zero policy that’s effectively closed the nation’s borders for nearly three years.
Jens Hildebrandt, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in North China, told Bloomberg TV that clarity on Xi’s Covid Zero policy was the “biggest concern” of the European nation’s businesses. “We need predictability and stability,” he said.
–With assistance from Sarah Zheng.
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