Beijing (TDI): German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled for an official two-day visit to China starting Wednesday, Beijing announced on Monday.
The trip comes at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Merz will be the third senior Western leader to visit China this year, following trips by the Canadian and British prime ministers in January, the first such visits in several years.
Earlier this month, Merz met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. He also spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping via telephone in May last year.
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Germany and China established diplomatic relations in 1972, which were upgraded in 2014 to an “all-round strategic partnership.”
In 2024, China became Germany’s second-largest global trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling $201.88 billion, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
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Merz’s visit is expected to further strengthen economic and diplomatic ties, building on recent high-level contacts and ongoing trade discussions between the two countries.
