German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in China's Anhui province on the 27th, opening a state visit that runs through the 31st. It is the first visit by a German president in almost eight years; Beijing stresses building trust, while Berlin is widely expected to focus on trade, industrial competition and security.
China's Huanqiu (Global Times) reported on the 27th that Steinmeier had arrived in Anhui to start his China trip. This paper could not directly verify the details of that arrival report, so the schedule and significance below follow what the Chinese Foreign Ministry said at its regular briefing on the 23rd. The ministry announced a state visit from the 27th to the 31st at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
광고 문의 · 300×250According to ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, Steinmeier will hold talks with Xi and meet Premier Li Qiang and NPC Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji to exchange views on bilateral ties and shared concerns. He will visit Beijing and Anhui. Which companies or institutions he will see in Anhui was not confirmed in the reports.
What Beijing reads into the visit
Mao called Steinmeier ‘an old friend of the Chinese people’ and said Beijing hopes the trip will raise mutual trust, deepen cooperation and help China-EU relations develop steadily. She described the relationship, which marks 54 years of diplomatic ties this year, as a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’, and the Global Times called the two countries the world's second- and third-largest economies.
Berlin's backdrop and open questions
The South China Morning Post (SCMP), which reported the plan earlier citing several unnamed sources, noted that Berlin has taken a harder line on China trade amid concern over industrial competition and security. The same report, relayed by Korea's Herald Business, mentioned Germany's block on state-owned Cosco taking a stake in a logistics firm on security grounds, and a joint German-French proposal to strengthen EU trade-defence tools. This paper has not seen the SCMP original.
The German presidency is largely ceremonial, with the chancellor running the government; Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited China in February. Steinmeier's term is reported to end in March next year, so whether the trip yields concrete agreements is not yet known.