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China’s new Premier Li Qiang is currently on a visit to Germany, his first trip abroad since taking office in March. With France lined up as the next stop on his agenda, Li’s Western European excursion is the subject of much speculation amid strained relations between China and the EU.
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Kicking off his first overseas trip since he was appointed to office three months ago, new Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday after arriving in Berlin a day earlier.
Set to dine later with Chancellor Olaf Scholz ahead of the seventh inter-governmental consultation between the two nations planned for Tuesday, Li is expected later this week in Paris to attend the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, a financial summit set for June 22-23 hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Li’s visit has prompted speculation that he is on a charm offensive to renew relations that have come under strain over the war in Ukraine and the competition for dominance in the Asia Pacific. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said ahead of the visit that bilateral relations had shown “resilience”, adding that China “hopes to deepen and expand its relations with Germany” as the world faces “turbulence, sluggish economic recovery and more global challenges”.
In publishing its first National Security Strategy last week, the German government said it viewed China as “a partner, competitor and systemic rival”. German officials have expressed a desire to find a way of cooperating with China on issues of mutual interest, notably climate change, adopting the motto “Acting sustainably together” for Tuesday’s meeting.
But the same document also called China a growing threat to global security. In presenting Germany’s security stance, Scholz said a more detailed China…
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