Despite differences, China’s Xi and Germany’s Merz seek to deepen ties in turbulent times
According to AP, there are many things that China and Germany do not see eye-to-eye on — notably Russia’s war in Ukraine — but the leaders of the world’s second and third largest economies nonetheless pledged Wednesday to work to deepen ties in an era of global turbulence.
Both countries have been buffeted by the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, who lauded his import tariffs in a State of the Union address delivered just hours before German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met separately with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.
“The more turbulent and complex the world becomes, the more China and Germany should strengthen strategic communication and enhance strategic mutual trust,” Xi said at the government’s Diaoyutai state guesthouse, a leafy and sprawling property dotted with grand buildings.
He noted the year had not begun peacefully and said, as he has before, that the world is undergoing the most profound changes since the end of World War II.
Merz replied that although the two countries have issues and challenges to discuss, they should “emphasize the things we have in common and face the challenges we stand before together.”
Merz, on his first trip to China since taking office last May, has championed building a stronger Europe both economically and militarily to assert itself in the shifting new world order.
Before departing for China on Tuesday, he stressed that for all the differences Europe has with China, “the big global political problems can no longer be tackled today without involving Beijing.”
The chancellor told reporters after his talks that he asked the Chinese leaders to use their influence to end the war in Ukraine.
“We know that signals from Beijing are taken very seriously in Moscow — that goes for words as well as deeds,” he said.
Many European governments have been frustrated that China hasn’t done more to pressure Russia to end the fighting. It has maintained trade and close diplomatic ties with Russia and said its position on the conflict is impartial and objective.
Xi told Merz that China supports a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine, but emphasized that it would have to “address the legitimate concerns of all sides,” and have “equal participation of all parties,” China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.
