Chinese President Xi Jinping has used talks in Beijing with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to call for what he described as a new chapter in relations between the two countries, urging Germany to pursue a “rational, pragmatic and friendly” policy towards China despite growing trade frictions between Beijing and Europe.
The meeting took place on Friday, October 30, 2026, during Steinmeier’s five-day state visit to China, a trip that concludes on Saturday. Xi welcomed what he called a new chapter in relations and expressed support for an “all-dimensional strategic partnership” based on equality, mutual benefit and strategic stability.
“This new paradigm sends a positive signal to the world: we favour openness over closure, and cooperation over confrontation,” Xi told Steinmeier, according to reports of the meeting.
Key Takeaways
- Xi Jinping urged Germany to pursue a “rational, pragmatic and friendly” policy towards China and backed a new model of cooperation based on equality, mutual benefit and strategic stability.
- Premier Li Qiang told Steinmeier that China is willing to import more high-quality German products and expand cooperation in autos, chemicals, artificial intelligence, digital and green industries.
- Steinmeier pressed the other side of the argument, warning that China’s drive for greater economic self-sufficiency should not come at the expense of other markets.
What Xi Asked For
Xi told Steinmeier that China and Germany, described in Chinese state media coverage as the world’s second- and third-largest economies, should strengthen communication and coordination, citing their responsibilities for the development of relations between China and the European Union and for stable growth of the global economy.
He also called for more exchanges in culture, education and the arts, as well as easier travel between the two countries, in order to build closer ties between the two peoples ahead of the 55th anniversary of China-Germany diplomatic relations next year.
Xi briefed Steinmeier on the fifth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee during the talks, according to the same coverage. Steinmeier, for his part, said he had visited China eight times over the past 25 years and had seen a country transformed on each trip.
This new paradigm sends a positive signal to the world: we favour openness over closure, and cooperation over confrontation.
What Steinmeier Said Back
Steinmeier did not arrive in Beijing with only warm words. Speaking on Thursday at the German ambassador’s residence in Beijing, he cautioned against viewing China through simple binaries and warned that China’s drive for greater economic self-sufficiency should not come at the expense of other markets.
During the talks with Xi, Steinmeier stressed the need for China to help preserve the international order, referring to the rules-based global governance system based on the United Nations Charter, according to Reuters’ account of the meeting.
That balance — closer cooperation on one side, and frank warnings about trade imbalances on the other — ran through the whole visit. The trip began in Anhui province, where Steinmeier toured the former residence of Li Hongzhang, a leading statesman during the Qing Dynasty who visited Germany in 1896, before moving on to Beijing.
The Trade Offer From Premier Li
The economic substance of the visit came in a separate meeting with Premier Li Qiang, who told Steinmeier on Friday that China is willing to import more high-quality German products as the two countries seek to shore up trade ties amid rising protectionism between Europe and Beijing.
Li said China is willing to work with Germany to use intergovernmental consultation mechanisms to expand cooperation in autos, chemicals, artificial intelligence, digital and green industries. He also urged the two countries to firmly uphold free trade and open cooperation, according to a readout released by the Chinese foreign ministry late on Friday.
The offer lands against a difficult trade backdrop. Brussels has warned that it will use every possible means to remedy its widening trade deficit with China, and the German president’s visit has unfolded against brewing trade tensions between the European Union and China. China’s own factory activity has also been under pressure, which makes the question of market access run in both directions.
- Xi backed a new model of China-Germany cooperation based on equality, mutual benefit and strategic stability.
- Li Qiang offered more imports of high-quality German products and wider cooperation in autos, chemicals, AI, digital and green industries.
- Steinmeier urged China to preserve the international order and warned that self-sufficiency should not hurt other markets.
- Both sides discussed more cultural, educational and travel exchanges ahead of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year.
Why the Timing Matters
The visit is part of a wider European diplomatic moment. Canada and the European Union launched their own Alliance for the Future in Montreal on the same week, another sign that Europe’s partners are building closer ties while relations with Washington remain unsettled. Beijing, meanwhile, hosted more than one European guest in the same days: Swiss President Guy Parmelin signed a protocol to upgrade the China-Switzerland free trade agreement, and Iceland’s foreign minister was welcomed with a new flight connection linking Beijing with Reykjavik.
For Germany, the visit also follows Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s trip to China in February, and it sits alongside Berlin’s other partnerships in the region, including an enhanced strategic partnership with South Korea agreed earlier in October. A day before Steinmeier arrived to visit Volkswagen’s plant in the eastern city of Hefei, the German automaker’s China unit said it had obtained a permit to conduct Level 3 autonomous-driving road tests in the city, a key step toward its 2027 target for Level 3 readiness — a concrete example of the kind of industrial cooperation both sides say they want more of.
What to Watch Next
What to watch next is whether the language of a new chapter turns into anything measurable: whether China does import more high-quality German products, whether cooperation in autos, chemicals, artificial intelligence, digital and green industries expands through the intergovernmental consultation mechanisms Li mentioned, and whether cultural, educational and travel exchanges grow ahead of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year. The other question is whether Steinmeier’s warnings about self-sufficiency and market access lead to any change in the trade frictions between Beijing and Europe, or whether the visit is remembered mainly for its warm words about openness over closure and cooperation over confrontation.