On February 25, Friedrich Merz began his visit to China. It was the first visit by a German chancellor since taking office. Merz met in Beijing with Chinese Premier Li Qiang . The discussions focused primarily on trade issues. The goal of the meeting was to improve trade cooperation, which Germany views with concern and seeks to make fairer and more balanced. China, on the other hand, called for the protection of “multilateralism and free trade.” The German delegation included the heads of 30