The main theme of the German chancellor’s visit to the People’s Republic was the war in Ukraine, while the parties also discussed Taiwan issues and trade relations.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited China on November 4. He became the first Western leader to visit China in three years. Scholz met with Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. War in Ukraine, economic friendship and the Taiwan issue: Correspondent.net will speak about the topics of the negotiations in Beijing.
Request to influence Moscow
The German chancellor at the meeting asked Xi Jinping to use his influence in Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Scholz said that the governments in Beijing and Berlin have agreed that Russian threats with nuclear weapons are unacceptable and that if the Russian Federation uses them, it will cross a red line. Therefore, the existing crises in the world can only be solved together, and how China deals with it is very important, Scholz insisted.
Chinese Prime Minister Li said he and Germany hope for a quick end to the war in Ukraine.
“We cannot afford to escalate. The time has come to call both sides for peace talks,” Li said.
“We don’t want regional stability to be shaken, international production and supply chains to be destabilized… We don’t want to see that,” Li said, avoiding open criticism of Russia for the invasion. its in Ukraine.
Germany’s economic dependence on China
Scholz did not come to China alone, but with a delegation of 12 titans of German industry, namely the CEOs of Volkswagen (VLKAF), Deutsche Bank (DB), Siemens (SIEGY) and chemical giant BASF (BASFY). The media reported that business representatives were to meet with Chinese companies behind closed doors.
During the meeting with Scholz, Xi Jinping called on Germany and China to work together in a “complex and unstable” international situation, and said the visit would “improve mutual understanding and trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, and plan the next phase of Sino-German relations.”
Speaking at a press conference with Prime Minister Lee, Scholz said Germany’s economic relationship with China had recently become “much more difficult” as Beijing made it difficult to access some of its markets.
“We see discussions in China leaning more toward autonomy and less economic ties. And those views need to be discussed,” Scholz said.
Taiwan’s Issues and Human Rights in China
Other topics that Scholz brought up in the talks in Beijing were human rights in China and the situation around Taiwan.
Regarding the first question, Scholz noted that “human rights are universal, and this applies specifically to the rights of minorities.”
As for fears about a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the head of the German government stressed that Taiwan’s status quo can only be changed peacefully, through dialogue.
China approves BioNTech vaccine for foreigners
During his visit to Beijing, Scholz received the green light to approve a BioNTech coronavirus vaccine developed in Germany for foreigners living in China. According to him, this is part of the agreed closer cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. Also discussed was “the prospect of a general acceptance of BioNtech in China”. So far, BioNTech’s drug has not been approved for the Chinese market. The People’s Republic has a strict zero-COVID policy with a strict lockdown, but there has been repeated speculation recently about the possible removal of the “corona policy”.
Why did it take 11 hours to visit China?
The German chancellor’s visit to China was special: Scholz became the first Western state visitor to be received in the isolated country for the first time in two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Xi Jinping greeted the chancellor without a mask but without shaking hands. They were also sitting across from each other at two long tables in the distance. Scholz and his delegation move in a hermetically sealed “bubble”. That is why this eleven-hour visit is shorter than any previous Chancellor’s trip to China.
Scholz is also the first Western head of government to meet a Chinese president after he cemented his autocracy at a Chinese Communist Party convention two weeks ago.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.