Overview
- Klingbeil opened the Germany–China finance dialogue in Beijing with a meeting at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse, becoming the first minister of the new government to visit China.
- He called for reliable access to critical raw materials, the reduction of industrial overcapacity, and clearer entry to China’s financial markets for German firms.
- Vice Premier He Lifeng invited German investment and urged Berlin to help de‑escalate EU–China trade disputes, describing the talks as a complete success, while not publicly addressing raw material exports or Ukraine.
- The finance minister urged Beijing to use its influence to help end Russia’s war on Ukraine, reiterating that competition must be rules‑based and fair.
- Greens leader Franziska Brantner criticized the trip as sending mixed signals after the foreign minister’s canceled visit, as Klingbeil traveled with Bundesbank chief Joachim Nagel and a finance‑industry delegation before stops in Shanghai and Singapore.