German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is scheduled to travel to China next week, from 24 to 26 February, according to Deputy Government Spokesman Sebastian Hille, who announced the trip in Berlin on Friday. The itinerary will include visits to Beijing and Hangzhou. Hille said the trip’s main focus will be “competition”. He added that a key goal is finding the right balance between cooperation and differentiation, targeting collaboration only where it is necessary and mutually beneficial.
The visit will also touch on the Ukraine issue, specifically China’s support for Russia. Hille told a news agency that, without wanting to pre‑empt discussions, this topic will likely feature in the talks. A spokesperson from the Foreign Office added that all conversations will also involve European security interests and China’s role in supporting Russia. “The foreign minister made clear that Russia’s war against Ukraine is a threat to Europe’s security and that we expect China to use its influence over Russia to make it harder for Moscow to continue its aggression” the spokesperson said.
Merz’s trip to China has been planned for some time. Prior to the visit, he met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in South Africa and met Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference – sessions that helped lay the groundwork for this visit. Earlier in the year, tensions had surfaced when German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) abruptly canceled a China trip. That trip has since been rescheduled.
