The brevity of Olaf Scholz’s one-day visit to China, where he will meet President Xi Jinping on Friday, means that there will be little scope for the kind of colourful photo-ops that his predecessor, Angela Merkel, enjoyed during 12 visits to Germany’s most important trading partner. For Mr Scholz, who becomes the first G7 leader to visit Beijing since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, that is just as well. The optics of the German chancellor’s trip have already proved controversial enough.
Mr Scholz is travelling with the traditional bevy of CEOs from companies such as Volkswagen, BMW and the chemicals giant BASF. But the mood music accompanying a much-criticised visit bears little relation to the confident mercantilist rhythms of the Merkel era. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Kremlin’s subsequent weaponisation of energy, have laid bare the potential cost of relying on politically hostile actors.
