German Foreign Minister to pay official visit to China

2025-12-06 22:33:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Finally: From Sunday to Wednesday next week (07.12 -10.12.2025), German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will travel to China. There is a lot to discuss with the Chinese government. Above all, Wadephul hopes for a positive atmosphere for the talks, as it has not been so good recently.

The CDU politician had planned his first visit to the Asian superpower for October 26, but the visit was canceled at short notice on October 24. According to sources in political circles in Berlin, Wadephul had not found enough high-profile interlocutors, making the trip pointless.

A German Foreign Minister that no one in Beijing wants to talk to? Some observers spoke of a diplomatic incident, especially since Chancellor Friedrich Merz had not yet scheduled his first visit to China.

Wadephul concerned about China's "aggressive behavior"

The rather cold relationship between Germany and China was certainly partly due to some critical remarks that Wadephul had made earlier. Before the visits to Japan and Indonesia, the Foreign Minister had repeatedly and publicly denounced China's "increasingly aggressive behavior" in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas.

Immediately, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning in Beijing warned the CDU politician against "further inciting confrontation and escalating tensions." Shortly after, the Chinese let Wadephul go uninvited. Apart from a meeting with his counterpart Wang Yi, who had also visited Berlin earlier, the Foreign Ministry was unable to arrange further talks.

Vice Chancellor Klingbeil calms the situation

But now Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) has visited China. Apparently, he has succeeded in calming things down. "We are seeking dialogue with China to find solutions to urgent problems despite the growing international tensions," the Vice Chancellor declared before his departure from China in mid-November.

At a meeting with government representatives in China, the SPD chairman managed to insist on reliable access to critical raw materials for German companies without upsetting his hosts.

Germany, China and "Rare Earths"

Germany depends heavily on China for supplies of so-called "rare earths", such as lithium. These rare raw materials are essential for the production of countless products, for example in the automotive industry, but also for armaments such as submarines and fighter jets.

China itself dominated the global rare earths market for many years through low prices, and is now using its position geopolitically. When China threatened an export ban a few weeks ago in a trade dispute with the US, German carmakers also feared a production halt, but that was averted.

"Germany was inactive for a long time"

According to Janka Oertel, a political scientist and sinologist in Berlin, Germany's current dependence is the result of years of inaction. Rare earth elements from China were cheap and available in large quantities, so domestic production was neglected.

Oertel told the Phoenix broadcaster: “We weren’t particularly interested in building mines here because it causes significant environmental damage. We were actually quite happy that this happened somewhere else.” In China, that is.

Merz wants to talk to China about the war in Ukraine

Another sensitive issue between Germany and China that Wadephul now has to deal with is Beijing's role in the Ukraine war. On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Merz gave an interview to DW on November 23 and announced that he would make his long-awaited inaugural visit to Beijing in January or February 2026.

In South Africa, he had the opportunity to speak with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. He later told DW: "China can increase pressure on Russia to end this war. This is the topic of my discussions with the Chinese government and, if necessary, will be a topic of my meeting with the Chinese President next year. But I hope that we will reach a ceasefire by then and that this will not overshadow my talks in Beijing."

Critical comments from German Foreign Minister Wadephul regarding China's ongoing conflict with Taiwan are certainly not expected this time. /DW