Overview
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz met President Xi Jinping in Beijing on February 25 and both sides agreed to strengthen economic cooperation while reaffirming free trade and multilateral principles.
- China and Germany signed cooperation documents including on green transformation, and Xi highlighted potential collaboration in advanced fields such as artificial intelligence.
- Merz stated Germany adheres to the one‑China policy and said any steps on Taiwan should proceed by peaceful means.
- Merz signaled plans for government‑level consultations with China possibly within the year and indicated he may return to China.
- The outreach reflects trade shifts after U.S. high tariffs reduced German exports to the United States, with China again Germany’s largest trading partner.