Achievements and shortcomings of Scholz’s visit to China

The German daily Handelsblatt, which is published in Dusseldorf, said in a commentary titled “Chancellor Scholz proved his critics wrong just because he heeded them” that the German chancellor’s visit to China could be considered a success in terms of the final result.

“Wrong time, wrong signal, wrong delegation list —- Almost no German chancellor’s visit to China has been so criticized. And in the end, we can conclude that he listened to the critics, and judging from the outcome of the talks, the trip was a success. Scholz made Germany’s position clear to China and also heard Beijing’s point of view in person. But the most important thing is for the chancellor to show that Germany-China relations have changed.”

The author then pointed out that the chancellor, Angela merkel, and 2019 years ago to bring huge economic and trade delegation, everywhere in the economic and trade cooperation as the center of the visit, follow this scholz German business leaders to Beijing very consciously to maintain a low profile, and the German chancellor, in public speaking is only 5 minutes to reach the economic and trade issues, and is a critical tone.

“We can also certainly assume that Scholz lobbied for the interests of accompanying German companies in the presence of Chinese leaders. It does send a mixed message to large German companies that are highly dependent on China: on the one hand, the German government is aware of the dangers of some companies being highly dependent on China, but on the other hand, it remains firmly on their side. But beyond that, Scholz has also focused on geopolitical issues related to China in Beijing. It is also commendable that he raised the issue of human rights in Xinjiang in front of the Chinese premier.

Scholz made China’s role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict a key focus of his visit. The German chancellor has urged Beijing to use its influence with Russia to prevent Moscow from using nuclear weapons. Whether this will ultimately work is doubtful, to say the least. Still, Scholz sent an important signal that Germany is fulfilling its role in relations with China, not just defending its own economic interests. It remains to be seen whether Germany will follow through with concrete actions in the coming months.”

Under the headline “Europe is strong when Germany and France work together effectively”, Die Welt, a newspaper published in Berlin, published a guest commentary written by Norbert Lammert, former president of the German Federal Parliament, criticizing Chancellor Scholz’s lack of coordination with France on China policy.

“Relations with China and Russia must be fundamentally adjusted. We must wean ourselves off our dependence on Russian raw materials, but we must not become dependent on supplies from other insecure countries. We should prioritize credible agreements with like-minded democratic partners. “Allowing Chinese state-owned enterprises to take a stake in Hamburg’s ports and Chinese companies to acquire German semiconductor manufacturers are purely commercial considerations that go against the spirit of the changing times announced by Chancellor Scholz.”