Merkel holds “farewell talk” with Xi

Was it the last phone call between Xi Jinping and Angela Merkel? The German chancellor and China’s president met via video conference for a “farewell talk”, according to a spokeswoman for the German government. According to the statement, Merkel and Xi discussed the development of bilateral relations and current issues on the international agenda, such as preparations for the upcoming G20 summit and the Covid pandemic. Xi will likely not attend the summit in Italy later this month in person, so there will be no opportunity for informal talks with him there. While Beijing has not yet officially canceled his travel plans, Xi has not left China since the Covid crisis began.