Merz in China for talks

GERMAN Chancellor Friedrich Merz touched down in China yesterday, beginning his inaugural visit to his country’s largest trade partner and a high-tech rival as Europe's biggest economy struggles.

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GERMAN Chancellor Friedrich Merz shakes hands with China's Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China.

(AFP)

Berlin and Beijing want to build on their decades-old economic ties at a time when US President Donald Trump has sparked global chaos with his tariffs blitz and other erratic foreign policy moves.

But Merz is also expected to stress German and European interests in his talks with President Xi Jinping, including by urging him to put pressure on China’ ally Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

China, the world’s number two economy, overtook the US last year to become Germany's biggest trade partner, but Berlin also regards the Communist Party-run state as a systemic rival to the West.

Merz is the latest in a string of Western leaders courting Beijing in recent months, including Britain's Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Mark Carney, as they recoil from the mercurial policies of Trump, who is also expected from March 31.