SHANGAI: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on a visit to China on Monday pressed his case for open and fair markets, warning his hosts against dumping and overproduction while calling for the European Union not to act out of protectionist self-interest.
Scholz’s trip to China, in which he is accompanied by several leading German business executives as well as three ministers, is being watched for signs as to how Europe will calibrate its response to what it believes are Chinese goods being dumped on its market.
The three-day visit is Scholz’s first to China since his government launched a “de-risking” strategy last year to avoid tethering Germany too closely to the world’s second largest economy.
The trip has been overshadowed by Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend that fuelled fears of a wider regional conflict.
Scholz warned Iran not to launch more strikes but also joined other Western leaders in calling for Israel to help cool tensions. China is expected to press Berlin not to back threatened European Union measures against Chinese cars, solar and wind park equipment.