German Chancellor Olaf Scholz went to China on Sunday. He wants to strengthen Germany's economic ties with China. He landed in Chongqing with a big group of ministers and business people.

While other countries are putting pressure on China, Scholz wants to show that Germany still wants to do business with China. He doesn't agree with the US and others who want to cut ties with China.

Scholz said, "China is an important economic partner for us." He also wants to make sure German companies can compete fairly in China.

He also wants China to help stop the war in Ukraine by talking to Russia's President Putin. Germany thinks China has influence over Russia.

This is Scholz's second trip to China since he became Chancellor. His first trip was in November 2022, which happened after Xi Jinping became more powerful. This visit is important because during the pandemic, China didn't help much and didn't distance itself from Russia's actions in Ukraine. This made Western countries want to rely less on China.

Germany's allies are also challenging China on trade issues. They are investigating China's help to its industries. The US is looking into the risks of Chinese technology in cars.

Germany needs China's market because many German jobs depend on it. Both countries are also struggling economically.

Germany's economy didn't grow much last year and isn't expected to grow much this year either. China wants to grow by around five percent this year, but its exports dropped a lot last month.

Some people in Germany want Scholz to be tougher with China. They say focusing only on short-term profits could be risky in the long run, like past reliance on Russia for cheap energy.

Others think Germany should be more assertive with China, especially since other countries like the US and Japan are being tough. They say Germany is strong enough to do this.

BOB Post