In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, second from left, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, second from right, walk together in Beijing, China, April 16, 2024. | Image Credit: AP
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he hoped Berlin and Beijing could help achieve “just peace” in Ukraine when he met President Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital on Tuesday.
The chancellor arrived in China on Sunday, his second visit to the country since taking office, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business executives.
His whistlestop tour has taken him to southwestern megacity Chongqing, financial powerhouse Shanghai and now Beijing, but he faces a tough balancing act as he aims to boost economic ties with Berlin’s biggest trading partner.
Mr Scholz, who met Mr Xi at Beijing’s Diayutai State Guesthouse on Tuesday, said he hoped to discuss with the Chinese leader “how we can contribute more to a just peace in Ukraine”.
While China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, it has been criticized for refusing to condemn Moscow for its aggression.
And while China and Russia have increased economic cooperation and diplomatic ties in recent years, their strategic partnership has only been close since the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Scholz told Mr. Xi on Tuesday that “Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and Russian weapons will have a very significant negative impact on security in Europe,” according to a recording provided by the chancellor’s office.
“They directly affect our core interests,” he told Mr. Xi, adding that they “damage the entire international order because they violate the principles of the United Nations Charter.”
He also touched on areas he said the two countries could collaborate on, including climate change.
‘Risks and Challenges’
Chinese state media said Mr Xi highlighted the importance of ties in the face of “increasing risks and challenges”.
“China and Germany are the second and third largest economies in the world,” state broadcaster CCTV said. Xi said.
“The two countries should view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective and work together to add more stability and certainty to the world,” the Chinese leader added.
He also laid out what state media described as “four principles to prevent the Ukraine crisis from spiraling out of control and restore peace.”
Mr Xi said nations should “focus on upholding peace and stability and refrain from seeking selfish gains”, as well as “cool down the situation and not add fuel to the fire”.
“We need to create the conditions for the restoration of peace and avoid further escalation of tensions,” added Mr Xi, while aiming to “minimize the negative impact on the world economy”.
The “Four Principles” echoed a Beijing paper last year that called for a “political settlement” to the conflict, saying it would allow Russia to hold on to most of the territory seized by Western countries in Ukraine.
CCTV released footage of the two going for a walk in the beautiful gardens of the Statehouse for a “deep exchange” set to an uplifting classical tune.
Mr Scholz later met with Premier Li Qiang, Xinhua reported, without giving further details.
He is expected to sit down with the German-Chinese Economic Committee and hold a press conference in the evening.
While many of Germany’s Western allies confront China on a range of trade issues, Mr. A visit from Scholz arrives.
Investigations into state aid for Chinese solar panels, electric cars and wind turbines are underway in Brussels.
Meanwhile, the United States is investigating the national security risks posed by Chinese technology in cars.
After Russia’s war in Ukraine exposed the bloc’s power dependence on Moscow, “taunting” has emerged as the main theme of the EU’s economic policy towards China.
But speaking to Mr Scholz on Tuesday, Mr Xi stressed that “the industrial and supply chains of China and Germany are deeply embedded in each other,” state media said.
“China’s exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries (and) photovoltaic products… have enriched global supply and reduced global inflationary pressures, while contributing well to the global response to climate change,” he said.
“The mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a ‘danger’, but a guarantee for the stability of bilateral relations and an opportunity to create a future,” Mr Xi said.