China
Friedrich Merz on the Chancellor's trip + Reconnect China
Dear reader,
The visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Beijing is currently a source of much debate. In a guest commentary, German politician Friedrich Merz considers the visit completely ill-timed. "The visit of the German chancellor and still acting president of the G7 countries directly after the 20th Party Congress of the CP of China will be highly welcome in China." The CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader fears a "propaganda success" for the state leadership, especially since Scholz will carry the approval of the Cosco start-up in Hamburg in his luggage. In this context, Merz highlights that China continues to support Russia's war against Ukraine.
The Scholz trip is also the focus of our analysis – but this time from Beijing's point of view. With which Western countries can China still cooperate effectively? Germany is indeed one of the few remaining partners, writes Frank Sieren. In the US, Donald Trump could make a comeback as president, France has long been on a confrontational course, and newcomers are in power in the UK and Italy. Olaf Scholz could use this state of affairs on Thursday in Beijing to extract the best for mutual interests – not only for the battered economy, but also for climate protection or an end to the Ukraine war.
We are two days away from the exciting visit of the chancellor to Beijing. We continue to follow the debate from different angles.
