Germany's Scholz makes difficult visit to assertive China
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is making his first visit to China as German leader this week, a diplomatically delicate trip while Germany and the European Union work on their strategy toward an increasingly assertive and authoritarian Beijing
BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz is making his first visit to China as German leader this week, a diplomatically delicate trip while Germany and the European Union work on their strategy toward an increasingly assertive and authoritarian Beijing.
Scholz's messages will face close scrutiny. While his nearly year-old government has signaled a departure from predecessor Angela Merkel's firmly trade-first approach, he is taking a business delegation and his trip follows domestic discord over a Chinese shipping company's investment in a German container terminal.
The leader of Europe's biggest economy will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during Friday's one-day visit. With China still imposing tough COVID-19 restrictions, his delegation won't stay in Beijing overnight.
Scholz's visit, the first recently by a major EU leader, comes just after Xi was named to a third term as head of the ruling Communist Party and promoted allies who support his vision of tighter control over society and the economy. It is also accompanied by rising tensions over Taiwan and follows a U.N. report that said Chinese human rights violations against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups may amount to “crimes against humanity.”
