Steinmeier presses China to narrow trade gap during Beijing state visit

In brief

• German President Steinmeier urged Xi Jinping to help reduce Germany's large trade deficit with China.
• Premier Li Qiang offered closer cooperation in the automotive, chemical, AI, digital and environmental industries.
• In 2025 Chinese exports to Germany were about 170 billion euros and the German deficit about 90 billion euros.
• The state visit, Steinmeier's first to China since 2018, ends on Saturday.

Steinmeier raises trade imbalance with Xi

In talks with Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, Steinmeier asked Beijing to reduce Germany's large trade deficit with China. He said trade ties should bring lasting benefits to both countries and that the framework for trade should be reviewed regularly (Steinmeier in China: Handelsüberschuss im Fokus – tagesschau.de) (China-Staatsbesuch - Bundespräsident Steinmeier drängt bei Treffen mit Xi auf Abbau des Handelsüberschusses – Deutschlandfunk). Xi received him with a military honor guard.

Li Qiang offers closer cooperation

In a separate meeting, Premier Li Qiang urged Germany to keep trade open and to work together on open markets, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. Beijing said it was ready to deepen cooperation with Germany in the automotive, chemical, artificial intelligence, digital economy and environmental industries (Handel - China kündigt bessere Zusammenarbeit mit Deutschland an – Deutschlandfunk). Li's proposal came as trade tensions between Europe and China were growing. Reports warned of a possible hard trade dispute (Steinmeier in Peking: China will mehr deutsche Produkte importieren – ZEIT ONLINE).

Trade figures

According to the Federal Statistical Office, Germany's trade figures with China for 2025 were:

• Chinese exports to Germany: about 170 billion euros
• German trade deficit with China: about 90 billion euros

Visit programme and background

Steinmeier arrived in China on Tuesday. During the trip he also promoted joint work on electric vehicles (Staatsbesuch - Bundespräsident Steinmeier zu Gast in China - Treffen mit Xi – Deutschlandfunk). A banquet on Friday evening was the planned close to the programme. The visit was Steinmeier's first state visit to China since 2018. It ends on Saturday.