Germany’s foreign minister heads to China this weekend for talks focused on tense economic ties between Europe and Beijing, particularly in the area of rare earths, Berlin said Friday.
Johann Wadephul was originally supposed to pay his first visit to China as foreign minister in late October. Still, he abruptly cancelled that trip at the last minute after failing to secure key meetings.
Economic ties between Europe’s top economy and China have traditionally been close but have come under strain in recent years due to issues such as allegations of unfair trade practices and protectionism.
Wadephul heads to China on Sunday and will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and other top officials, a foreign ministry spokesman in Berlin told journalists.
“The talks will naturally focus on economic ties between Europe and China,” the spokesman said.
“Among other things, the foreign minister will address the security and reliability of supply chains for critical raw materials and technologies.
“Restrictions on these, for example, through export controls on rare earths, have a negative impact on German and European companies.”
China has in the past year been ratcheting up controls over exports of rare earths, which are used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronics and defence industries.
This hit German manufacturers particularly hard, although Beijing recently agreed to suspend some of the controls for a year.
The European Union this week presented a multi-billion-euro plan to help curb its dependence on China for rare earths.
German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil visited China in November and said he received a “clear commitment” from Chinese officials that they will ensure access to key raw materials.
Russia’s war in Ukraine — Beijing is a key ally of Moscow — and tentative talks aimed at ending the conflict will also be a focus, the spokesman said.
Other topics will include human rights, conflicts in the Middle East, and disputes in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, he said.
Wadephul has publicly criticized China on several previous occasions, including over Taiwan — a deeply sensitive topic in Beijing. Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory.
