Mr Scholz’s visit with a business delegation on Thursday is alarming the rest of Europe, with leaders and officials warning that it could legitimise, while also increasing reliance on China for key manufacturing supply chains and raw materials, from solar panels to rare metals.
Mr Scholz’s solo trip drew criticism from other leaders, who said that for China to take Europe seriously the bloc should be united.“Considering what’s going on in China, it’s in their interests to divide us. It should be in our interests to stay united,” said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. However, Mr Scholz was not dissuaded from postponing his travel, telling his EU counterparts there should be no “decoupling” from Beijing, and refusing French President Emmanuel Macron’s offer to accompany him so the trip would have a broader European accent.Mr Scholz has even drawn criticism within Germany earlier this month for giving the green light to the disputed sale of a stake in a Hamburg container terminal to China’s state-owned Cosco.