BEIJING (AP) 鈥� German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for fair competition in trade relations with China while warning about dumping and overproduction as he spoke to students in Shanghai on Monday.
Scholz is visiting China against the background of looming EU tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and . The two countries are also split over how to handle Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine.
鈥淭he one thing that must always be clear is that competition must be fair,鈥� Scholz told students at Tongji University in Shanghai, according to German news agency dpa.
鈥淥f course we would like our companies to have no restrictions, but conversely we behave exactly how we are demanding here,鈥� he said, adding there must be no dumping or overproduction.
The European Union is mulling tariffs to protect its producers against cheaper , which some fear will flood the European market.
The head of Germany鈥檚 auto industry association, the VDA, expressed opposition to such tariffs ahead of Scholz鈥檚 visit. Hildegard M眉ller told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in comments published Saturday the tariffs would not help the European and German auto industries and instead 鈥渃ould quickly have a negative effect in a trade conflict.鈥�
鈥淐urrent business with China secures a large number of jobs here in Germany,鈥� M眉ller said.
Scholz made comparisons to reservations years ago when Japanese and Korean automakers entered the German market.
鈥淭here was great agitation in the newspapers: 鈥楴ow the Japanese cars will come and clean up鈥� 鈥� nonsense,鈥� he told the Tongji University students. He said there are German cars in China that were made with Chinese manufacturers, and at some point there would also be Chinese cars in Germany and Europe.
Scholz began , where he and his delegation of ministers and business executives visited a partially German-funded company and other sites in the vast city, which is a production base for China鈥檚 auto and other industries.
He is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday in Beijing before returning to Berlin later in the day.
Scholz is expected to question Xi about China鈥檚 support for Russia鈥檚 economy two years into Moscow鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine.
Prior to his arrival, the German leader posted on social platform X that he had discussed the 鈥渕assive鈥� Russian air attacks on civilian energy infrastructure with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, and declared that Berlin would 鈥渟tand unbreakably by Ukraine鈥檚 side.鈥�
China has refused to criticize Russia鈥檚 aggression. Beijing maintains trade relations with Moscow, and the two nations carry out joint military drills. A U.S. intelligence report last week found to help in its war effort against Ukraine.
Berlin is also worried about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a self-ruled island 130 kilometers (80 miles) off of China鈥檚 coast that Beijing claims as its own.
Scholz told students in Shanghai that borders 鈥渕ust not be moved by force.鈥�
鈥淲e should not be afraid of our neighbors,鈥� he said, emphasizing the importance of international institutions such as the World Trade Organization.
Despite the political and trade frictions, China was Germany鈥檚 top trading partner for the eighth straight year in 2023, with 254.1 billion euros ($271 billion) in goods and services exchanged between the sides, slightly more than what Germany traded with the U.S. but a 15.5% contraction from the year before.
This is Scholz鈥檚 second trip to China since he became chancellor in late 2021. His previous visit was and essentially was a one-day trip because of the strict COVID restrictions still in place at the time.
It is his first visit since the German government last year presented which met with . Premier Li and a delegation of senior officials in June.
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Associated Press writers Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
The Associated Press
