Berlin humiliated: Xi Jinping has no time to meet German chancellor

Despite nearly six months in office, Chancellor Merz has not yet made an official visit to China. He had planned a trip to China and India next week, but President Xi reportedly did not have the availability to receive the German Chancellor. Berlin, in turn, did not want to proceed without a planned meeting with Xi.

According to Die Welt, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johan Wadenfuhl was also scheduled to travel to Beijing ahead of Merz’s potential visit. However, this trip was canceled at the last moment. Die Welt reports that the German side cited a sudden and late change in previously agreed travel conditions by Beijing as “unacceptable.”

Die Welt notes that canceling a meeting at such a high level, particularly in a country where “saving face” is crucial, constitutes a diplomatic disaster for Berlin. The newspaper also recalls that China had previously attempted to involve Germany in the historical dispute between Beijing and Tokyo, which prior German governments had rejected.