The first G7 leader to visit Beijing since the Covid-19 epidemic is the German Chancellor.
His trip has caused a lot of controversy in Germany.
The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party took place a few weeks ago.
It was used to pack his leadership team with allies.
An extraordinary and bitter row erupted recently at the very top of the German government when it emerged a Chinese company was close to buying a stake in a part of the port.
Six government ministers reacted angrily. They argued that the deal would give China influence in Germany. Germany's security services warned of the dangers.
The deal should go ahead, according to the German Chancellor. He was able to push through an agreement that limited the influence of the 24.9% stake.
No one knows why he was so determined. The deal was argued to represent vital investment by the city authorities.
A lot of other commentators think that the reason for the trip was to get a gift for the leader of the free world.
That has raised a lot of questions.
We will seek co-operation where it lies in our mutual interest, but we will not ignore controversies... When I travel to Beijing as German chancellor, I do so also as a European
The chancellor took with him a group of German business executives. That was standard practice for his predecessor, who believed that economic ties could influence political relations with countries like China and Russia.
The signal that's being sent is that we want to extend and intensify our economic co-operation.
The Greens have been trying to get a harder line on China. Annalena Baerbock, the party's foreign minister, reminded him recently that his government came to power promising to adjust its China strategy.
The country needs to learn from its previous dependence on Russian energy if it wants to remain independent.
Although Germany imports more than it exports from China, the country's ties with the Asian nation are still complex and deep.
More than a million jobs in Germany are dependent on that relationship. Daimler sells more than three quarters of its vehicles in China.
German businesses invested more in China in the first half of the year By the end of this decade, the company expects to have invested 10 billion in the new plant in south China.
The head of the German automotive industry association warned that Germany's dependence on China for raw materials would be an economic and strategic mistake.
Her counterpart at the Association of Small and Medium Businesses advised against a sudden change in course.
The Chancellor will be in Beijing for less than a day. He wanted to find out how much co-operation was still possible because "the world needs China in the fight against the global Pandemic and Climate Change".
Our approach to China must change if China is changing.
Many in Berlin and beyond will be looking for evidence that Mr Scholz's response to a changing China may be the defining test of his Chancellorship.
Germany is the EU's most powerful economy and it's important what it says.
I used to think that former Chancellor of Germany, Ms. Merkel, could be seen as a European Donald Trump because of how she put Germany first.
The EU was ignored in favor of lucrative German energy and trade contracts. During the eurozone crisis, she wanted EU austerity measures for Mediterranean member states.
In the minds of many EU leaders, there is more than just a name for the next Chancellor.
His aid package to help German businesses with high energy prices is seen as giving them an unfair competitive advantage.
His trip to China was announced but not co-ordinated with the EU. Mr Scholz was warned by France'sEmmanuelMacron that he risked being isolated.
As Europe, and Germany first and foremost, weans itself off its dependency on Russian gas, the question is this: Is Berlin too close to China?
The EU needs to become less beholden to Beijing, according to the president of France. Critics accused him of being against free trade.
The weaponisation of energy imports/exports after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump's presidency made it clear that Europe should no longer rely on the US for security.
With Mr Macron's insistence on the continent becoming more cohesive and self reliant, diversifying its trade partners began to seem sensible to the EU. He is seen as out of step.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
