The German Chancellor from China: We want greater and fairer economic cooperation with China
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for partnership and dialogue with China during a visit to Beijing aimed at recalibrating relations marred by a major trade deficit crisis with the world’s second-largest economy.
In his first visit to China after taking over as German chancellor, Merz, accompanied by a large trade delegation, expressed to President Xi Jinping his desire to deepen what he called the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, which was Germany’s largest trading partner last year.
Xi welcomed the remarks by Merz, who faces the difficult task of redefining an economic relationship that has become increasingly unfavorable to Germany but remains central to its core industrial interests.
“The more turbulent and interfered the world becomes, the more China and Germany need to strengthen strategic communication and strengthen mutual trust,” he said.
The German chancellor’s visit followed visits by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as European leaders seek to strengthen their ties with China following a widening gap with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The comments reflect long-standing German concerns about what Berlin sees as a devaluation of the yuan, market distorting government subsidies and spare production capacity of Chinese exporters, who have generated huge trade surpluses with Europe’s largest economy, which reached 90 billion Euros ($106 billion) last year.
Merz noted that the trade deficit has quadrupled since 2020, largely attributing this to excess production capacity, as he told reporters, “This situation is unhealthy”.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang told German Chancellor Merz that China is willing to cooperate in areas such as automobiles and chemicals, as well as emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and biomedicine.
In a statement issued by the meeting, the Chinese official news agency Xinhua said China would “actively respond to the reasonable demands of German enterprises with foreign investments and that its willing to import more high-quality products from Germany.
The German chancellor is accompanied by a delegation of 30 companies, including major automakers such as Volkswagen and BMW, which are struggling with Chinese competition pressures, exacerbating a trade imbalance that has sparked concern in Berlin and prompted calls for protectionist trade policies.
The face of the Chinese market, which has been coveted by foreign companies due to its large consumer base and growing spending power, has changed in the past few years as domestic firms have been forced to look for opportunities abroad due to shrinking consumer demand due to a slowing economy and a surplus in manufacturing output.
