German Chancellor and Chinese President Discuss Trade Conflicts and Ukraine Crisis

In a recent meeting between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the topic of trade conflicts and Europe’s shift towards protectionism was brought up. President Xi expressed his concerns about the possibility of Europe engaging in a trade war regarding environmentally friendly technology. He specifically highlighted China’s efforts in addressing climate change through the export of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar panels. President Xi urged both parties to exercise caution regarding the growing protectionist sentiment and emphasized that Beijing does not pose any security threat. Additionally, he subtly hinted that Germany should refrain from taking actions that could undermine their bilateral relationship, as there are no risks involved in their collaboration.
In industries like production machinery and vehicles, or emerging areas such as the environmentally friendly transition, digitalization, and Artificial Intelligence, the two nations possess immense potential for mutually beneficial collaboration that remains largely unexplored,″ Xi proclaimed, as conveyed by state media Xinhua.

Scholz, accompanied by a group of influential German business leaders eager to safeguard their profitable business opportunities in China, focused his opening remarks on Ukraine instead of trade.

He urged Xi to ″contribute more towards achieving a just peace in Ukraine.″ ″The Russian aggression against Ukraine and the rearmament of Russia have had a significantly negative impact on security in Europe. These actions directly affect our fundamental interests,″ he conveyed to Xi.

Xi did not provide any new commitments regarding Ukraine but expressed support for ″all efforts that contribute to a peaceful resolution of the [Ukraine] crisis, as well as the prompt organization of an internationally recognized peace conference involving both Russia and Ukraine.″

He called for ″the equal participation of all parties, where different peace proposals can be discussed″ — strongly indicating that Europe should involve Russia in the negotiations. He also appealed to the West not to ″worsen the situation,″ using China’s metaphorical expression for refraining from supplying weapons to Ukraine.