Beijing, Berlin downplay tension after German foreign minister cancels China trip

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By Liz Lee and Sarah Marsh

BEIJING/BERLIN (Reuters) -China and Germany sought on Monday to downplay suggestions of rising tension between the world’s second and third largest economies, after German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul postponed his first trip to Beijing.

Wadephul was originally due in the Chinese capital from Sunday on the first visit by a minister of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government, but canceled at the last minute after the Chinese acceded to just one of his meeting requests

The cancellation came amid strained ties over Chinese export curbs on chips and rare earths that are harming the German economy and increasingly assertive comments from Berlin on China’s support for Russia and its actions in the Indo-Pacific.

One senior German parliamentarian accused China of having provoked the cancellation from a fear of debate. Others, however, said it would only stoke more tension and hurt Germany’s economy, already facing a third year of contraction.

German deputy government spokesperson Steffen Meyer said Berlin remained interested in a “respectful and good exchange” with Beijing and did not see the postponement having “any major impact on the federal government’s further policy.”

BOTH COUNTRIES HIT HARD BY US TARIFFS

Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry, said “China has always viewed and developed its ties with Germany from a strategic and long-term perspective”.

The “current circumstances” provided further reason for both countries to seek common cause, he told a news conference on Monday, without giving details.

Both export-oriented economies have been hard hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which in turn led China to overtake the U.S. as Germany’s largest trading partner in the first eight months of the year.

Germany is China’s top European trade partner, with two-way trade exceeding $200 billion in 2025, Chinese data shows.

The German Chamber of Commerce in China had said it regretted the trip cancellation, saying businesses need more clarity on bilateral issues.

Andreas Kroll-Pietsch, the managing director of a commodities trading company who was part of a planned business delegation to accompany Wadephul on the trip, said he could not comment on its cancellation.

But “politically motivated trade conflicts and export restrictions destroy prosperity and must be resolved through constructive dialogue,” he said. “Further escalation is not in the interest of the German economy.”

BERLIN GETS TOUGH ON BEIJING

Neither the Chinese nor German side has made any official visits since Merz’s Christian Democratic Union party defeated the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, at the polls this year.

In comparison, China’s top diplomat has visited Austria, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Switzerland this year.

Wadephul has struck an increasingly tough stance on China since he took office as foreign minister in May.

He has highlighted Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, its “increasingly aggressive behaviour” in the Indo-Pacific, and its export curbs on rare earths and semiconductors.

In doing so, he has to an extent gone further than predecessor Annalena Baerbock, already seen as outspoken, who labelled Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator”.

In general Germany’s conservatives have in recent years struck a more hawkish stance on China than the SPD, now a junior partner in Merz’s coalition.

An official for the SPD-run finance ministry said plans remained afoot for a possible continuation of the German-Chinese finance dialogue. It is China’s turn to receive the German finance minister.

Merz had also been expected to visit China soon. German government spokesperson Meyer said the postponement did not have to affect possible visits by other cabinet members.

(Reporting by Liz Lee in Beijing; Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Holger Hansen in Berlin; Writing by Joe Cash; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Clarence Fernandez, William Maclean)