Germany said Monday that China has “a responsibility for global peace” after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
The call came at a time of growing worries in the West about ties between China and Russia, which have drawn closer since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine affects core European interests,” the foreign ministry said in a message on X after Wadephul’s first phone call with Wang since taking up his post.
According to a readout of the call from China’s foreign ministry, Wang said China was committed to helping reach “a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement through direct dialogue”.
The call also came as efforts intensify for a ceasefire in the more than three-year-old conflict, with US President Donald Trump set to speak by phone with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Monday.
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Last week Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in his first major speech to parliament since taking office, said Germany was worried about closer ties between Beijing and Moscow and would press China to ensure it “contributes to resolving the war in Ukraine”.
Germany and China have long had close relations, particularly on the economic front, and the foreign ministry insisted Monday that bilateral relations remained “important”.
Merz has also stressed that his government will continue the policy of “de-risking” — or seeking to reduce its heavy economic dependence — when it comes to economic ties with Beijing.
But in his call with Wadephul, Wang warned that the two countries should prevent the “undermining of normal bilateral cooperation” through such a policy, according to Beijing’s foreign ministry.
He also expressed hope the European Union and China could resolve a row triggered by the bloc’s move last year to impose extra tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars over claims that Chinese subsidies undercut European automakers.
Germany had spoken out against the move, fearing retaliation against its car manufacturers in the important Chinese market.
Wang also said Beijing and Berlin should “uphold free trade” and “work together to oppose unilateralism and protectionism”, according to the foreign ministry.
China has been hit with the heftiest levies of any US trading partner amid Trump’s tariff blitz. The EU has also been singled out by Trump but is facing lower tariffs.
