Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Beijing on his first visit to China in eight years with a message meant to hold two positions together: Germany and Europe want to keep trading with China, while seeking stronger protection against what they see as unfair terms.
Speaking at Peking University, where he was awarded the honorary title of professor, the German president said: “Our goal as Europeans is clear. We do not want decoupling from China.”
He set out the condition attached to that position. “We want to shape trade so that it continues to bring benefits to both sides. In short, win-win must not turn into win-lose. Partnership works only when both sides have something to gain.”
Steinmeier pointed to high barriers faced by European companies seeking to operate in China. He also said China heavily subsidises exports to Europe, placing pressure on the European market and creating “the danger of one-sided vulnerability”.
He also urged Beijing to use its diplomatic weight to get Russia to halt its attacks on Ukraine and enter serious peace negotiations.
“We Germans do not want the world to fracture into blocs. We do not want a new bloc confrontation,” Steinmeier said.
After the speech, Steinmeier went to the university sports hall with Timo Boll, Germany’s most famous table tennis player, who was accompanying the state visit as a special guest. Steinmeier played Boll and lost 1–7.
The visit came as the European Union’s trade deficit with China stood at over €370 billion last year and is on track to surpass €400 billion this year.
The EU imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles two years ago over concerns about state subsidies. Beijing responded with tariffs on European brandy, pork and dairy products, and restrictions on exports of critical minerals.
China and the EU have recently agreed to cap exports of Chinese hybrid vehicles for four years.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, gave the same broad direction on Tuesday in Singapore, when he called economic decoupling from Beijing a “big mistake”.
Merz said Germany was pursuing de-risking and diversification to reduce “unhealthy, one-sided dependencies” in areas including energy, supply chains and critical raw materials.
On Friday, the final day of Steinmeier’s visit, he met Xi Jinping in Beijing. Xi framed China’s relationship with the EU as a partnership and called for dialogue on an equal footing, while urging both sides to choose openness over closure.
“As long as [both sides] stay anchored to their partnership and engage in dialogue on an equal footing, differences and challenges can always be resolved and will not stand in the way of China-EU relations moving forward,” Xi said.
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