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Akbar Novruz

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Chinese President Xi Jinping called for strengthening communication and trust amid global uncertainties in a meeting with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday, AzerNEWS reports via SCMP.

During the meeting in Beijing, Xi said the international landscape this year was marked by turbulence and intertwined crises, saying the world was experiencing “changes unseen in a century”.

“The more turbulent and complex the world becomes, the more China and Germany need to strengthen strategic communication and enhance strategic mutual trust,” Xi said.

Xi told Merz that he hoped to take bilateral ties to “new levels”, adding he had “always attached great importance to ties between Beijing and Berlin”.

“I am willing to work together with the chancellor to jointly make efforts to continuously advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany to new levels,” Xi said.

Merz’s visit, his first since taking office in May, comes as Europe rebalances its ties with China under a more assertive American foreign policy led by US President Donald Trump.

The US leader’s renewed tariff threats and his push to acquire Greenland have unsettled European countries.
Political leaders from Finland and Ireland have also visited China this year, while French President Emmanuel Macron and Spain’s King Felipe travelled to China late last year. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also visited China late last month.

Earlier in the day, Merz met Chinese Premier Li Qiang. He said Germany valued close economic ties with China, its largest trading partner last year, and stressed fair cooperation and open communication, according to Reuters.
“We have very specific concerns regarding our cooperation, which we want to improve and make fair,” Merz said.

Bilateral trade reached €251.8 billion (US$297 billion) last year, up around 2 per cent year on year, according to provisional figures released by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany.

The trade imbalance has been widening, with German imports from China totalling €170.6 billion, while exports stood at €81.3 billion.

Li urged both sides to safeguard multilateralism and free trade – remarks seen as a reference to Trump’s trade war.

“China and Germany … should strengthen our confidence in cooperation, jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade,” Li said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping remarked during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday that the two countries should work together to safeguard the stability of the supply chain.

Xi noted the importance of China and Germany being "reliable partners." He expressed hope that Berlin would approach its relations with Beijing positively and objectively. Furthermore, Xi urged the two countries to promote dialogue and cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI).

Previously, during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Merz stressed the importance of maintaining and strengthening Germany's diplomatic and economic relations with Beijing.

The two sides signed agreements, including deals on climate change and food security, according to Agence France-Presse.

Merz is leading a high-level business delegation – including senior executives from about 30 leading German firms in sectors such as automobiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, recycling and machinery – as part of Berlin’s efforts to deepen economic ties.

Merz is scheduled to tour the Forbidden City and visit Mercedes-Benz in Beijing before travelling to the eastern tech hub of Hangzhou, where he will visit robotics company Unitree Robotics and the German tech giant Siemens Energy.

Last week, deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille said Merz would also attend a meeting of the Consultative Committee on German-Chinese Business, a platform that brings together senior officials and corporate leaders from both sides.

Earlier this month, Merz told a meeting of his Christian Democratic Union that export-dependent Germany needed “economic relations all over the world” – including with China.

“But we should be under no illusions,” he added, noting that China had its own global ambitions and political model.

“China today sees itself in stark contrast to the United States and claims the right to define a new multilateral order according to its own rules,” Merz said.

He also recently warned lawmakers that Germany must become more competitive to close the “growth gap” with China.

At the opening of the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Merz said China had laid the groundwork for shaping global affairs “with strategic patience” and could, in time, draw level with the US militarily.

“China is systematically exploiting the dependencies of others, reinterpreting the international order on its own terms,” he said.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Merz that Beijing hoped to bring ties “to a new level” and wanted Germany to serve as a “stabilising anchor for strategic relations” between China and Europe.

Merz’s visit follows that of Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in December, when he urged senior officials including Wang to use their influence to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.