Friedrich Merz will be received with military honors by Prime Minister Li Chiang and subsequently by President Xi Jinping. Merza, who took office in May of last year, will be accompanied by a strong business delegation including the top German industry leaders such as Mercedes-Benz and Siemens Energy.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit China next week with a business delegation and meet with Premier Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping. This was announced by Merza’s spokesman Sebastian Hille on Friday, TASR reports according to the AFP agency.
Merz will leave on Tuesday for his first official visit to China since taking office as chancellor last year. “The chancellor will be welcomed in Beijing on Wednesday with military honors by Premier Li Qiang… In the late afternoon, the chancellor will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for negotiations and dinner,” the chancellor’s spokesman confirmed at a press conference on Friday.
“This date was suggested by the Chinese side… We consider this offer to visit at the very beginning of the year as a good sign,” Hille said. According to him, the German chancellor will discuss bilateral relations, economy and security in China. Merz will also visit the Forbidden City in Beijing, the factories of Chinese robotics firm Unitree, German automaker Mercedes-Benz and turbine manufacturer Siemens Energy, Hille added.
