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Speaker 1: German Chancellor all of Shoals has landed in Beijing, and

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Speaker 1: he's there on a trip with a major business delegation

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Speaker 1: joining us to discuss this is Rebecca John Wilkins, Bloomberg's

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Speaker 1: Asia Government and Politics correspondent. So, Rebecca, this economic emphasis

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Speaker 1: on this trip is alarming to some. It seems like

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Speaker 1: there's consensus in Europe that the entire relationship with China

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Speaker 1: needs to be rethought, and some say that Shortz seems

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Speaker 1: to be out of step. What are what are some

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Speaker 1: of the key uh determinable or or objectives that shots

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Speaker 1: will have on this trip. Well, I think there's a

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Speaker 1: lot at stake for Chancellor Schultz. I mean, one key

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Speaker 1: issue is how to balance these business interests in these

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Speaker 1: commercial ties that you mentioned, alongside this growing pressure and

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Speaker 1: growing cause not just from from Europe but also from

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Speaker 1: Washington and even from within his coalition to change course

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Speaker 1: on on how Germany views UM China. UM. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think it's very clear when you look at that

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Speaker 1: sort of uh. The senior executives from Volkswagen, Mercedes, BioNTech,

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Speaker 1: just to name a few. You know, these are the

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Speaker 1: folks who are flanking Shorts on this visit, and it

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Speaker 1: does reflect that the handful of these companies that do

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Speaker 1: heavily rely on access to China outside the European Union,

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Speaker 1: China has become Germany's largest trading partner UM, and it reflects,

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Speaker 1: you know, decades of sort of this approach towards economic

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Speaker 1: entanglement as a form of influence that Schortz's predecessors have

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Speaker 1: took taken up before him. So there is a long

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Speaker 1: sort of history here to disentangle, and Shorts himself has

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Speaker 1: made it clear that decoupling is not an option. He

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Speaker 1: is vowing to to take a sort of even position

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Speaker 1: here and have a candid exchange. What will some of

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Speaker 1: the comments be from Mr Schultz as regards the way

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Speaker 1: China's doing business? He has indeed UM and he did

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Speaker 1: come out earlier this week with an article he wrote

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Speaker 1: for a German paper stressing that he isn't going to

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Speaker 1: sort of turn away from these controversies, that he is

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Speaker 1: going to address issues of fair trade, fair access alongside

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Speaker 1: more controversial things like China's human rights record UM and

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Speaker 1: so on. So you know, clearly he is, I think,

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Speaker 1: in some ways trying to answer those critics that he

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Speaker 1: might steer away from those difficult conversations. But the big

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Speaker 1: question remains to what extent he's willing to sacrifice national

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Speaker 1: interest and the interest of those very large firms, including

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Speaker 1: very large automakers when it comes to Beijing. We were

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Speaker 1: running a story on the Bloomberg Terminal this morning that

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Speaker 1: basically looked at the Biden administration and said that the

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Speaker 1: Biden administration is taking it too far with its aggressive

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Speaker 1: stance towards towards you know, and I'm sure that all

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Speaker 1: of Shorts would probably say that he's trying to take

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Speaker 1: a more moderate position, certainly not um curry trying to

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Speaker 1: curry favor, but somehow be a sort of sensible middle track.

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Speaker 1: What are some examples of this about how maybe the

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Speaker 1: US is going further than what perhaps should be done. Absolutely,

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Speaker 1: I think both Shorts and many European leaders would agree

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Speaker 1: that they are trying to seek a more nuanced response.

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Speaker 1: You know, they have this trip sort of try three

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Speaker 1: pronged approach of viewing China as a partner, arrival, and

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Speaker 1: a competitor. Um. I mean, sources are telling us that

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Speaker 1: there is some frustration that the Chinese sort of can

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Speaker 1: view Europe sometimes just as an extension of d C

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Speaker 1: and obviously their implications there that hampers their ability to

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Speaker 1: negotiate deals. We do see a more sort of share

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Speaker 1: we say, nuanced approach in some of the language around

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Speaker 1: the approach to decoupling and so on. And also, of

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Speaker 1: course we have not seen from European countries buying into

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Speaker 1: this very sweeping chip sanctions that the Biden administration has

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Speaker 1: rolled out. And the big one to watch there is

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Speaker 1: a smel this Dutch company that you know, could pay

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Speaker 1: a pivotal role in deciding the efficacy of the sanctions

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Speaker 1: that Biden has initiated. But Schultz had his his allowance

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Speaker 1: of the sale of a stake and a German port

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Speaker 1: terminal to a Chinese firm, and and some people, I

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Speaker 1: mean plenty of people, even in the intelligence industry, thought

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Speaker 1: that was a step too far, Yes, indeed, and and

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Speaker 1: there was initial opposition to that from within his own

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Speaker 1: government to UM. Germans sort of security service as well

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Speaker 1: also did voice their concern um. I think that the

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Speaker 1: whole issue of to what extent Europe and other countries

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Speaker 1: allow China's access from state companies of these strategic issues

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Speaker 1: continues to be a really hot button topic. Okay, we

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Speaker 1: have to go. It's a lot of huff and puff

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Speaker 1: over what is a very short visit. Uh, but interesting

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Speaker 1: to get your insights on that, Rebecca Rebecca John Wilkins,

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Speaker 1: Bloomberg's Asia Government and Politics, corresponded with US Live