German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged closer political dialogue with China on Tuesday to address pressing international problems, saying the world's major crises can no longer be resolved without Beijing's involvement.
"China has risen to the ranks of the great powers. Our China policy must take this into account," he told reporters at Berlin's airport before leaving for Beijing. "No one can ignore China anymore. The major global political issues can no longer be addressed without including Beijing."
The conservative leader said he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang during his first official visit to China to discuss global issues, as well as political and economic ties.
Merz acknowledged fundamental systemic differences between Germany and China, but said they should not prevent enhanced economic cooperation, fair global trade or efforts to address challenges such as climate change.
While stressing the need for "de-risking" and decreasing one-sided dependencies, he underlined that Germany and Europe do not want decoupling from China.
"Such a policy would only harm us. We would jeopardize our economic opportunities instead of improving them," said Merz. "This would not make our world any safer, and we would forfeit the opportunity to tackle global challenges together."
He said both sides must avoid risks arising from increasingly dense interconnectedness and one-sided dependencies, "particularly in supply chains, technologies and raw materials."
The German chancellor also signaled that his government will pursue a different approach in relations with China, addressing political differences through constructive dialogue rather than public criticism.
"We want to approach each other with firmness, confidence and mutual respect on important issues. This includes not lecturing or reprimanding one another," he said.
"We want a dialogue between equals that identifies common ground and constructively addresses systemic differences. In this spirit, we also exchange views on human rights issues," he added.
