学术研究

3月5日，青山青年学者沈伟教授在《南华早报》上发表评论文章，表达了他对德国总理默茨首次访华之旅的看法。以下是全文内容。

When German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Beijing for his first visit to China last week, it came at a moment of heightened geopolitical attention. With US President Donald Trump expected to visit Beijing in late March or early April, European leaders are watching closely for possible shifts in transatlantic relations and trade policy.

Against this anxious backdrop, Merz’s meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing offered something the global stage has been deeply lacking in recent times: a measure of pragmatic steadiness.

Discussions on de-risking from China have taken place in European capitals for several years, but a look at the itinerary for Merz’s visit suggests the reality is more nuanced. He did not limit himself to diplomatic talks in the capital; he also travelled to the tech hub of Hangzhou, touring the facilities of Chinese humanoid robot-maker Unitree and Siemens Energy, accompanied by executives from German firms such as Volkswagen and BMW.

The rationale of pursuing business ties and tech partnerships was straightforward. Doing so helps Berlin show its willingness to engage Beijing in hi-tech frontiers, while at the same time Germany recognises that Chinese industry is no longer just an option for low-cost manufacturing.

Rather than retreating into technological isolation, German firms understand that maintaining long-term competitiveness requires direct engagement with Chinese innovation ecosystems. This can be achieved through forming partnerships and joint research and development projects with Chinese counterparts to influence standards and research priorities. While the headline-grabbing agreement for China to purchase up to 120 Airbus aircraft offered immediate, tangible gains for European manufacturing, the deeper strategic play is ensuring Germany remains a collaborative force in shaping the hi-tech innovations of the future global economy.

What was particularly distinctive about this visit was not that the two sides agreed on everything – rather, it was how they handled their disagreements. The joint communications out of the meetings were a clear demonstration of mature bilateral diplomacy. The two essentially agreed to disagree and made that clear in their statements.

Merz did not shy away from pointing out Germany’s €89 billion (US$104.3 billion) trade deficit with China or his concerns such as Chinese industrial overcapacity and export controls. For its part, the Chinese side acknowledged these points while firmly stating its own anxieties about the securitisation of tech export controls and trade barriers. This disagreement wasn’t a failure of negotiation; in fact, it acted as a pressure-release mechanism for engagement and set boundaries around their disagreements so the broader and strategic partnership was not damaged.

Xi struck the right chord when he said that a turbulent world requires China and Germany to view each other objectively as reliable partners. The partnership’s durability depends on people-to-people exchanges, such as cooperation in student mobility and collaboration in scientific laboratories between the two countries.
Educational exchanges remain a stabilising force. Between 2013 and 2022, Germany emerged as China’s largest European research partner, producing more than 86,000 joint scientific publications. At the student level, while nearly 38,600 Chinese students are currently part of Germany’s higher education system, both nations must ensure a continuous mutual exchange of knowledge.

Beyond the numbers, Merz’s commitment to resume the China-Germany Dialogue Forum is a meaningful breakthrough. These Track II dialogues are important channels for reconnecting academics, policymakers and industry experts. They play a vital role in cushioning diplomatic tensions and facilitating common understanding, even when official political channels get bogged down by systemic rivalry.

More crucially, Berlin’s recalibration will send a signal that resonates across Europe and set the tone for Sino-European relations. By demonstrating that it is possible to uphold structural concerns while still deepening ties in broader engagement such as green tech and people-to-people exchanges, Germany is offering Brussels a useful template. If Europe’s largest economy sets a clear precedent in finding a productive and pragmatic equilibrium with Beijing, it provides a realistic blueprint for the rest of Europe.

Timing is everything in a world of increasingly transactional international relations. By securing aerospace deals, finalising green-transition agreements and agreeing to restart intergovernmental consultations, Berlin and Beijing can establish key leverage ahead of Trump’s expected visit to China.

Merz’s trip proves that it is possible to acknowledge de-risking while still conducting serious and constructive business. By leaning into hi-tech collaboration, maintaining open channels of communication and treating disagreements with diplomatic forthrightness rather than hostility, Germany and China are sketching out a playbook for an increasingly divided world.

It’s no longer about perfect alignment; it’s about managed engagement on trade ties and agreed red lines. This kind of managed cooperation adds useful stability to the global economy.