German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stressed the importance of fair and rule-based trade as he began his two-day visit to China on Monday.
“We are in favor of free world trade. We are in favor of removing trade barriers,” Wadephul said in Beijing during talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
Wadephul said that China was Germany’s most important trading partner and that Berlin intended to expand the partnership. The trip’s aim is to identify “where we can strengthen our economic relations, but also determine where obstacles exist,” he said.
The visit comes six weeks after Wadephul was forced to delay his originally planned trip as Beijing had not confirmed meetings with key leaders amid tensions over Taiwan. Observers described the episode as a diplomatic scandal, particularly because part of Wadephul’s purpose was to prepare Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s inaugural visit to China.
Wadephul has also repeatedly and publicly denounced what he called China’s “increasingly aggressive behavior” in the Taiwan Strait and in the East and South China Seas.
What is on Wadephul’s agenda?
Following a meeting with China’s commerce minister, the top German diplomat is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
In the meeting with Wang, Wadephul is expected to address China’s restrictions on rare-earth exports, which are critical for auto, tech and defense manufacturers.
He is also likely to raise China’s support of Russia in its war in Ukraine, notably Beijing’s purchases of Russian oil despite its formal neutral stance. Germany itself stopped large-scale gas imports from Russia in 2022.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko