BERLIN: On the final day of a three-day trip to China, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss economic cooperation, amid complaints from German companies over unfair competition conditions in China, reported dpa news.
Scholz, who is also planning to meet Chinese premier Li Qiang, is also expected to bring up the simmering Taiwan conflict, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
There are fears that China will attack Taiwan, which it regards as its own territory. The Chinese leadership has repeatedly threatened an invasion.
Scholz said he will warn Xi against providing military support for Russia. China is considered Moscow’s most important ally and suspected of supplying the country with goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, potentially strengthening Russia in its ongoing war on Ukraine.
Scholz began his trip to China, the chancellor’s second since taking office in 2021, with a visit to Chongqing, the world’s largest city, followed by a stop in Shanghai where he met representatives from German businesses and the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad in Shanghai to discuss the problems companies are facing in China.
Some of the 5,000 or so German companies that are operating in China have complained about facing disadvantages compared to their Chinese competitors, more difficult market access and legal uncertainties.
China’s reception of Scholz and several business leaders from Europe’s largest economy comes as the EU mulls punitive tariffs to protect the bloc’s manufacturers from more affordable imported Chinese electric cars.
The German chancellor is accompanied by a dozen chief executives, among them the bosses of car manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and BMW, as well as the chemical company BASF. Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car manufacturer, is not represented this time. – Bernama, dpa
