Germany’s high dependence on China was revealed in Schultz’s trip to Beijing

– International News – Tasnim news agency, the German newspaper “Tagus Zeitung” discussed the recent visit of German Chancellor Olaf Schultz to China and wrote: The German chancellor showed China that Germany is more dependent on the People’s Republic than China, and Beijing knows how to take advantage of this.

Germany’s policy towards China can be described as A partner, racer and systemic competitor suffers. The conflict between these three characteristics makes coherent policies difficult, which is also complicated by conflicting interests in the EU and the German economy.

Before the German Chancellor’s visit to China, his public relations team had few expectations. and they only announced that their goal is to maintain relations with China. This is as true as it is trite. But now a lot of talk has been published. At Schultz’s last meeting in November 2022, he and Xi openly agreed that not only was Russia’s use of nuclear weapons completely unacceptable, but even the threat of doing so was unacceptable.

Now Xi, albeit vaguely, He supported holding a peace conference in Switzerland – which Russia rejected – but he also confidently rejected Western accusations that China was helping Russia with dual-use goods – products that could be used both civilian and military. be placed On the other hand, Shultz’s statement that Russia’s war threatens Europe was unimportant to Xi. China has no interest in Russia’s defeat and can live with it as long as the conflicts do not escalate.

The same is true of issues related to climate change and hidden subsidies for Chinese exports. Was. Xi rejected discrimination against foreign exporters and his own actions that distort competition. Instead, he smartly pointed out that China’s solar panels and electric cars would help Europe meet its climate goals. He can even claim that the German chancellor didn’t even talk about EU countermeasures as a successful plan. Schultz’s trip showed once again that Germany is more dependent on China than vice versa, and Beijing knows how to exploit this in the long run. Now there was nothing left for Schultz.

The Frankfurter Rondschei also wrote in an article: Olaf Schultz and Xi Jinping discussed the Ukraine crisis in China and it became clear that there are many differences and no solution. Nothing is expected.

On Tuesday (April 16), Olaf Schultz ended his three-day visit to the country by meeting with Chinese government officials. Before the private meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing, he said that there are many points to discuss together, especially the situation in Ukraine. He repeated well-known phrases. He told the chancellor: “Together we can create more stability and security in the world” and claimed that China “is not involved in the Ukraine crisis”. But Western observers see it differently and believe that without China’s support, Vladimir Putin may not be able to lead his own war. Kurdistan, which supplies Russia with machines, microelectronics and other goods used to make missiles, tanks and airplanes. US government officials said Chinese companies are likely to supply materials for munitions and co-produce drones with Russian companies. Ironically, in the conversation with Schultz, Xi has now called on the West to “not add fuel to the fire,” meaning to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons.

Since Xi Jinping took office as president. China In the past 12 years, German chancellors have visited China eight times, while Xi has only visited Germany twice, the last time being almost seven years ago.

Schultz’s first visit to China In November 2022, it lasted only a few hours due to China’s strict measures for Corona. This time, the German Prime Minister stayed in this country for three days and visited Beijing, Chongqing and Shanghai. Xi spent more than three hours with Schulz in Beijing, but offered little. After these talks, it is still unclear whether China will participate in the Ukraine peace conference, which is scheduled to be held in Switzerland in June. Instead of addressing the concerns that Schulz had raised the day before in Shanghai, he defended himself. Xi said: “China’s exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products have not only enriched the global supply, but also made a major contribution to the response to climate change in view of the possible punitive tariffs of the European Union.

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