French President Emmanuel Macron suggested to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz they go together to Beijing to send a signal of EU unity, but Scholz declined the offer.
Report informs, citing Reuters, that the trip comes after Berlin’s green light for China to obtain a stake in a Hamburg port terminal despite opposition from coalition partners and concerns from the United States.
Wang Yiwei, the director of the Centre for European Studies at Renmin University, said that the importance of Scholz’s visit was heightened by the fact that this is the first time in three years that a leader of a major western power has interacted face-to-face with Chinese counterparts.
“It is testing the waters of the relationship between China and Germany, Europe, even the West. If this visit is successful, Macron will come a month later,” Wang said.