German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday called for closer cooperation with China while pressing for fairer trade rules and urging Beijing to use its influence to help end the war in Ukraine.
Merz, on his first trip to China since taking office in May last year, met Premier Li Qiang and later President Xi Jinping in Beijing during a two-day visit aimed at strengthening ties with Germany’s largest trading partner even as Berlin views Beijing as a systemic rival.
