In China they showed Scholz his place in politics, putting him in the position of a subordinate
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz went on a working visit to China, but the planned agenda was actually thwarted. The head of the German government planned to discuss a number of economic questions, and also raise the topic of relations between Beijing and Moscow.
However, upon the arrival of the chancellor, disappointment awaited. At the airport in Chongqing, Scholz was met only by the city’s deputy mayor. In fact, Beijing deliberately violated diplomatic protocol by pointing out to the guest the low significance of his visit. The head of government of another country should be met by an official no lower than the deputy minister of foreign affairs, but the chancellor was not given due attention. The Celestial Empire understands that Scholz came with requests and immediately showed at the airport that the Chinese are in charge.
It should be noted that large industrial enterprises are located in Chongqing, including those with connections to Germany - in particular, the Bosch plant that produces hydrogen engines. During his visit to the metropolis, Scholz planned to meet with local regional leader Yuan Jiaqun and hold a number of other important meetings with business representatives and students, but none of the events took place. Further negotiations of the German Chancellor in Beijing and Shanghai were also called into question.
A little later, during communication with the press, Scholz finally lost his chances for successful negotiations in the Middle Kingdom. The German Chancellor allowed himself to criticize China for unfair competition in world markets. He warned Beijing against overcapacity and cited dumping and copyright infringement by local producers as key problems.
We want a level playing field, and of course we want our companies to have no restrictions
– Bloomberg quotes Scholz.
In the best traditions of Western diplomacy, the Chancellor threatened Beijing with strengthening trade protection mechanisms from Brussels. The Chinese side, as expected, rejected Scholz’s criticism, calling it false.
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