German Chancellor Friedrich Merz yesterday urged Chinese firms to step up investment in Germany, but also called on Beijing to reduce market distortions as he began a visit aimed at resetting relations between the world’s second and third-largest economies.
On his first visit to China as chancellor, Merz, who was accompanied by a large business delegation, told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that he wanted to deepen economic ties with China, Germany’s largest trading partner last year.
“There are challenges, which we should talk about today, but the framework in which we operate is exceptionally good and we have worked together very well over the past decades,” he said.
Photo: Reuters
Xi, who has sought to position China as a reliable partner in an increasingly unpredictable world, welcomed the comments from Merz, who faces a tough balancing act of redefining an economic relationship that is increasingly unfavorable to German interests.
“The more turbulent and intertwined the world becomes, the more China and Germany need to strengthen strategic communication and enhance strategic mutual trust,” he said.
In an earlier meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強), Merz said there were “very specific concerns regarding our cooperation, which we want to improve and make fair.”
“We want Chinese investment in Germany,” Merz said at a business event attended by senior German and Chinese business leaders from the tech and auto sectors.
Li called on both sides to work together to safeguard multilateralism and free trade, in a comment seen as a reference to US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
“China and Germany, as two of the world’s largest economies and major countries with important influence, should strengthen our confidence in cooperation, jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade, and strive to build a more just and fair global governance system,” Li said.
Despite their calls for deeper engagement, the agreements Merz and Li formalized after their meeting were narrowly targeted and in industries peripheral to both economies.
The five documents signed covered continued efforts in climate change and green transition, cooperation in animal disease prevention and a poultry products protocol, as well as sports collaboration agreements for soccer and table tennis.
That paled in comparison with Canada and the UK, which respectively signed eight and 12 documents with China last month during visits by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
OPTIMISTIC: The DGBAS sharply upgraded its GDP growth estimate from 3.54 percent to 7.71 percent after the Taiwan-US trade agreement signing and given AI optimism The US imported more from Taiwan than China for the first time in decades, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshape trade flows while a global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) fuels demand for tech products. US purchases of goods from China plunged almost 44 percent in December last year from 2024 to US$21.1 billion, US Department of Commerce data showed on Thursday. By contrast, shipments from Taiwan more than doubled during the same period to US$24.7 billion. The soaring Taiwanese shipments to the US reflect the huge expansion in supplies of chips and servers for AI companies, which has completely changed
The Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The commission on Oct. 29 last year revised the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法), the Executive Yuan said in a report it submitted to the legislature for review. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never
US and Chinese fighter jets briefly faced off above waters near the Korean Peninsula this week, Yonhap News agency reported, marking a rare confrontation in that area between the two superpowers. About 10 US fighter jets on Wednesday departed an airbase in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, for drills above international waters off South Korea’s western coast, the news outlet cited unidentified military sources as saying. While the US planes did not enter China’s air defense identification zone, Beijing scrambled planes as they neared that region, the report said. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army organized naval and air forces to monitor and effectively respond
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
RSS