Germany’s president and chancellor are due to visit China and Japan next week, with diplomatic ties in focus after trade between China and Germany reached $211.11 billion in 2025, China’s Foreign Ministry said.
Germany’s trade gap with China widened in 2025 as exports fell 9.7% to €81.3 billion and imports rose 8.8% to €170.6 billion, Destatis reported. The German Economic Institute (IW) said exports of cars and car parts to China dropped by one-third to €13.6 billion.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit from Tuesday, Oct. 27, through Oct. 31, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi is scheduled to meet Steinmeier in Beijing. Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, are also expected to meet him and exchange views on bilateral relations and “issues of mutual interest,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. Steinmeier is also due to visit Anhui province in eastern China.
The trip will be Steinmeier’s first to China since 2018. He is scheduled to complete 10 years as president when his term ends in March 2027. Mao said Beijing hopes to deepen cooperation, seek joint innovation, advance China-Germany relations and contribute to steady growth in China-Europe ties.
Japan’s government announced that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will make a two-day visit starting Wednesday, Oct. 28, and hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The visit follows Steinmeier’s arrival in China by one day.
