BEIJING, April 16 -
Scholz, who met for more than three hours with Xi, before later seeing Premier Li Qiang, said he had pressed the case for China to guarantee German firms equal market access, the protection of intellectual property and a reliable legal system. Xi showed little willingness to make concessions, saying Chinese green tech exports have "not only enriched global supply and alleviated inflationary pressure, but also contributed greatly to the response to climate change".Sino-German commercial ties should not only be cultivated but expanded, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius told German broadcaster ARD in Beijing on Tuesday.
Xi told Scholz that China and Germany have "huge potential" for cooperation in both traditional fields such as machinery manufacturing and automobiles and emerging fields including green transformation and digital artificial intelligence.Critics worried that the trip - Scholz's longest bilateral visit anywhere since taking office in 2021 - is a sign Germany is not serious about diversifying trade and will continue to prioritise short-term financial gain over long-term security.