German Chancellor Olaf Scholz embarked on his high-profile visit to China on Sunday in an effort to strengthen economic relations between the two nations amid growing tensions between the Western allies and Beijing over a variety of trade and political issues.

The сhancellor, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and top executives from companies including Siemens, BMW, and Mercedes, touched the ground in the southwest city of Chongqing, an industrial hub with a population of over 30 million.

Scholz came to China at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang, yet at the airport, his delegation was greeted by vice mayor of Chongqing, Zhang Guozhi, and China's ambassador to Germany, Wu Ken.

The German leader is scheduled to visit the financial center of Shanghai on Monday, before traveling to the capital on Tuesday to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The three-day trip, the second and the longest since he took office in 2021, is reportedly aimed at reinforcing business ties with the world’s second economy, despite US calls for “decoupling.” He is also expected to touch base on overcoming the differences over the Russia-Ukraine conflict and tensions over Taiwan.

“China remains a really important economic partner,” Scholz told journalists on Friday, pledging to try and ensure fair competition for German companies operating in China.

Scholz's visit comes despite Germany’s Western partners tightening the grip of the trade with Beijing and the US probing the national security risks presumably posed by Chinese technology. China denies any wrongdoing, slamming all allegations as politically motivated and unfair competition practices.

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