Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged Germany to pursue a "rational, pragmatic and friendly" policy towards China, during talks in Beijing with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday 30 October. Xi welcomed what he called a new chapter in relations between the two countries and said China had always viewed the European Union as a partner, developing ties "in a spirit of sincerity and goodwill".

The meeting at the Great Hall of the People came at the end of Steinmeier's five-day state visit, the first by a German federal president to China in almost eight years. Steinmeier stressed that China must help preserve the rules-based international order, and pressed Xi on the trade imbalance: China's surplus with Germany was almost 90 billion euros last year.

Steinmeier also met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, telling him he was confident the two countries could solve their trade disagreements. He pointed to a recently reached agreement limiting exports of hybrid cars to the EU as proof that there were "ways of finding solutions" to difficult issues.

Trade tensions behind the diplomacy

The warm language in Beijing did not hide real friction. A day earlier, Steinmeier warned at Peking University that China's drive for greater economic self-sufficiency should not come at the expense of other markets, leaving them dependent on Chinese suppliers or facing unequal market access. The visit unfolded against brewing trade tensions between the EU and China, even as both sides stressed that cooperation outweighs competition.

No new trade agreement was announced, and the talks should not be read as settling those disputes. But they signalled a shared desire to keep channels open. China remains Germany's largest trading partner, giving both capitals a strong incentive to manage the disagreement.