In meeting with Merz, Xi urges efforts to advance China-Germany ties to ‘new levels’

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for strengthening communication and trust amid global uncertainties in a meeting with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday.

During the meeting in Beijing, Xi said the international landscape this year was marked by turbulence and intertwined crises, saying the world was experiencing “changes unseen in a century”.

“The more turbulent and complex the world becomes, the more China and Germany need to strengthen strategic communication and enhance strategic mutual trust,” Xi said.

Xi told Merz that he hoped to take bilateral ties to “new levels”, adding he had “always attached great importance to ties between Beijing and Berlin”.

“I am willing to work together with the chancellor to jointly make efforts to continuously advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany to new levels,” Xi said.

Merz’s visit, his first since taking office in May, comes as Europe rebalances its ties with China under a more assertive American foreign policy led by US President Donald Trump.

South China Morning Post