china travel germany

Travel Regulations Update

General preparations prior to travelling, cancellation of covid testing and health declaration.

Please check with national and local authorities for updates on related regulations and guidelines prior to your travel. Please also refer to the “ Travel and Security Information for China ” released by the German Federal Foreign Office.

Update in January 2024:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on November 24, 2023 to launch a pilot visa-free policy for Germany :

China unilateral pilot visa-free policy for six countries ( CN / DE )

From December 1, 2023 , to November 30, 2024, German passport holders can enter China without a visa for business, sightseeing, visiting relatives and friends, and transit that does not exceed 15 days.

In addition, detailed questions in practical implementation were clarified by the Chinese Embassy in Germany.

Frequently Asked Questions regarding the visa free policy for German citizens by the Chinese Embassy in Germany ( CN / DE )

The FAQ clarified detailed questions in practical implementation, such as the policy allowing  multiple visits to China and there are no restrictions on the visit times or frequency , foreigners enjoying the policy can depart from any country (region) outside of China.

To facilitate foreigner’s visits to China, five measures were introduced by National Immigration Administration. The measures include a relaxation of port visa application requirements, 24-hour direct transit without undergoing border check procedures at nine major airports, easy apply for a visa extension or reissue, multiple-entry visas in cases of need for foreigners already in China and minimizes the types of the materials for visa applications.

Keywords : China travel, China visa, visa exemptions.

Update on October 31, 2023:

Cancellation of Digital Health Declaration Form

The General Administration of Customs released a notice on the cancellation of the health declaration when entering and exiting China. Starting from November 1 , 2023, travelers are no longer required to fill in a health declaration form. However, travelers with symptoms of infectious diseases are required to actively make a health declaration to Customs.

Keywords : China travel, COVID-19 testing, digital health declaration, China travel requirements.

Update on August 28, 2023:

As of August 30, 2023 , travelers to China will no longer be required to undergo COVID-19 testing (nucleic acid or antigen) upon entry. This update was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on August 28, 2023, and is part of China's ongoing efforts to ease travel restrictions. A notice (DE) has also been posted at the Chinese Embassy in Germany.

Inbound travelers are also no longer required to declare the results of COVID-19 tests within 48 hours when making a health declaration to the Customs, according to a notice by the General Administration of Customs of China.

The  situation remains dynamic , and local regulations can change according to international developments without notice. The German Embassy and the German Consulates have no influence on the quarantine measures, that are adopted in accordance with national infection control regulations in China.

You may reach the  German diplomatic missions in China  at  010-8532 9202  or at  telefonpool(at)peki.auswaertiges-amt.de .

For further information in German, please check the websites of the  German Embassy in Beijing  regularly, as well as the designated website of the  Federal Foreign Office .

If you are a German citizen, we recommend to sign up with the Federal Foreign Office’s crisis prevention list -  Elefand .

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China Travel Restrictions & Travel Advisory (Updated March 7, 2024)

Updates March 7th, 2024 : Travelers from the following countries could enjoy visa-free entry to China for tourism, business, transit, or visiting friends and relatives. 

• From December 1st, 2023, to November 30th, 2024: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain.
• From March 14th to November 30th, 2024: Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
• Singapore, Brunei
• Malaysia (from December 1st, 2023 to November 30th, 2024)

If you want to arrange a private tour, even tentatively, simply contact us . 

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• What Ways to Enter China
• Do I Still Need a PCR Test to Enter China
• Hong Kong/Macau Travel Restriction

International Flights to China

What to expect when traveling in china, best times to travel to china, 8 ways to enter china: all open now.

Since China has fully permitted visa applications, there are now several ways to enter the country.

If you still hold a valid Chinese visa (any type including a tourist visa, 10-year visa, etc.), you can use it to enter China.

If you don't have a Chinese visa or your visa has expired, you can apply for a new one. All visas can now be applied for, including tourist visas, business visas, work visas, and so on. (International visitors can apply for a tourist visa to the Chinese Mainland in Hong Kong.)

For the documents required for a visa application, you can refer to the information given by a Chinese embassy/consulate . Please submit your application at least two months in advance.

To apply for a tourist visa (L visa), you will be asked to provide an invitation letter issued by a Chinese travel agency or individual or round-trip air tickets and hotel bookings.

When booking a private tour with us, we can provide you with an invitation letter, which is one more thing we do to make your travel more convenient, giving you more flexibility with your air tickets and hotel bookings.

Now it is very easy to apply for a visa . You can easily apply by yourself without an intermediary. The following is how one of our clients successfully applied for a Chinese tourist visa:

• First, fill out the form at the China Online Visa Application website ;
• Second, make an appointment on this website to submit your visa materials on Appointment for Visa Application Submission website ;
• Third, take the required documents to the embassy to submit;
• Finally, you will get a return receipt if your documents are qualified.

Usually, you will get your visa after 7 working days. The application fee is about USD185 for US citizens.

Q: What if my passport expires but my visa doesn't?

A: You can travel to China on the expired passport containing valid Chinese visa in combination with the new passport, provided that the identity information (name, date of birth, gender, nationality) on both passport identical.

If there is a change to any of the above details, you must apply for a new visa.

2. 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy

If you do not apply for a Chinese visa, you may still have the opportunity to visit these areas of China visa free: the Shanghai area (including Suzhou, Hangzhou, etc.), the Beijing area (with Tianjin and Hebei), the Guangzhou area (Shenzhen, Zhuhai, etc.), and more. Take advantage of the 6-day visa-free entitlements.

Find out if you could use the 144-hour visa-free transit policy with our information on China's 144-hour Visa-Free Policy (Eligible Entry/Exit Ports, Applicable Countries, Documents to be Prepared...)

You can also obtain entry and exit control policies through the 24-hour hotline of the National Immigration Administration:

• Beijing: 0086 (+86)-10-12367
• Shanghai: 0086 (+86)-21-12367
• Guangzhou: 0086 (+86)-20-12367

Quick Test: Will My Route Qualify for China 72/144-Hour Visa-Free Transit?

1. I will depart from (only applies to direct or connected flight):

2. I will arrive in China at [city], [airport / railway station / port].

3. My arrival date is...

4. I will leave for [country/region] from China (the bounding destination on the air ticket):

5. My departure date is...

6. My nationality is...

8. I have Chinese visa refusal stamps in my passport.

You qualify to enjoy China's 72-hour visa-free policy.

You qualify to enjoy China's 144-hour visa-free policy.

You don't qualify to enjoy China's 72-hour or 144-hour visa-free policy.

Reason you don't qualify:

• You must be in transit to a third country or region.
• You must leave the city area (prefecture or municipality) after the 72/144 hours (the 72/144-hour limit is calculated starting from 00:00 on the day after arrival, i.e. 24:00 on the arrival date).
• Your passport must be valid for more than 3 months at the time of entry into China.
• Your passport nationality is not eligible for the 72/144-hour visa exemption program.
• You have Chinese visa refusal stamps in your passport.

3. Port Visas (Landing Visas)

If you don't have time to get a visa, or if you find it cumbersome to apply for a tourist visa, you could consider traveling to China through a port visa.

Port visas can be applied for a group at least including 2 people. You need to enter the country within 15 days after you get your entry permit. The port visa allows a stay period of 1 to 2 months.

Applicable ports include Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Guilin, Xi'an, Chengdu, etc.

Note: Tourists from America are not granted a port visa in Shanghai.

Book your China trip with us and we can help you apply for a port visa.

4. Visa Exemption for ASEAN Tour Groups to Guilin

In addition, tour groups from ASEAN member countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Myanmar, Brunei, and the Philippines, can visit Guilin for 144 hours without visas as long as they meet the visa-free transit policy requirements.

5. Shanghai Visa-Free Policy for Cruise Groups

Shanghai has a 15-day visa-free policy for foreign tourist groups entering China via a cruise. You must arrive and depart on the same cruise and be received by a Chinese travel agent at the Shanghai Cruise Terminal (or Wusong Passenger Center).

6. Hainan Visa-Free Access

No visa is required for staying on Hainan Island for up to 30 days for ordinary passport holders from 59 countries. Groups and individual tourists must book a tour through an accredited travel agency.

Find out whether you qualify for the policy here .

7. Visa Exemption for the Pearl River Delta Area

International travelers from Hong Kong or Macau are able to visit the Pearl River Delta area (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, etc.) visa-free as long as they go with a registered tour provider, such as us.

8. APEC Cards

If you hold a valid APEC business travel card, you can simply enter China with the card without applying for a visa.

Travelers who hold a valid APEC business travel card can stay in China for up to 60 days.

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Do I Still Need a PCR Test or Antigen Self-Test to Enter China

No. Starting from August 30, all travelers entering China will no longer need to undergo any COVID-19 testing. You do not need to submit any test results for COVID-19 before departure.

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Hong Kong / Macau Travel Restriction

Hong kong entry requirements.

Travelers from any region bound for Hong Kong will no longer need to take pre-flight COVID-19 tests (no PCR test, no RAT test) from April 1.

There is also no need for any tests when traveling from Hong Kong to the Chinese Mainland. Hong Kong could be a good gateway for your China trip. See suggestions on China Itineraries from Hong Kong (from 1 Week to 3 Weeks).

Direct high-speed trains from Guangzhou and Shenzhen to Hong Kong are available now. In preparation for the Canton Fair, it is expected that direct high-speed ferries will be launched from Guangzhou Pazhou Port to Hong Kong's airport in mid-April.

• 10 Top China Tours from Hong Kong

Macau Entry Requirement

From August 30, travelers from any region bound for Macau will no longer need to take pre-flight COVID-19 tests (no PCR test, no RAT test).

There is also no need for any tests when traveling from Macau to the Chinese Mainland.

Inbound and outbound international flights in the week beginning March 6th rose by more than 350% compared with a year earlier, to nearly 2,500 flights, according to Chinese flight tracking data from APP Flight Master.

At present, there are one or two direct flights a week from New York to Shanghai, Los Angeles to Beijing, Seattle to Shanghai, London to Guangzhou, etc.

There are also many flight options with stopovers that are more frequent and affordable. Testing at transit airports is now not required!

The Coronavirus outbreak in China has subsided. China looks like it did in 2019 again. No special measures (like PCR tests or health codes) are required when traveling around China. All attractions are open as normal.

Wearing a mask is not mandatory when traveling. In hotels, masks are off for the most part. But in some crowded places, such as airports or subway stations, many people still wear masks.

Weather-wise, the best times to visit China are spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October), when most of the popular places have their most tourism-friendly weather, except for the "golden weeks" — the first week of May and of October — when most attractions are flooded with Chinese tourists.

If you are looking for smaller crowds, favorable prices, and still good weather, you should consider March and April or September.

Tourism in cultural and historical destinations like Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an is hardly affected by weather conditions. They are suitable to be visited all year round.

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We've been building our team for over 20 years. Even over the past three years we have continued, serving over 10,000 expats with China tours and getting a lot of praise (see TripAdvisor ).

We are based in China and can show you the characteristics and charm of China from a unique perspective. Just contact us to create your China trip .

Our consultants will listen to and answer your inquiries carefully and prepare the best plan for you.

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From Dec. 1, citizens of five European countries and Malaysia can enter China without a visa

FILE - People wearing face masks wait at the international passenger arrivals area at Beijing Capital Inernational Airport in Beijing, on March 15, 2023. China announced Friday, Nov. 24, 2023 that it will allow visa-free entry for citizens of five European countries and Malaysia as it tries to encourage more people to visit for business and tourism. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

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BEIJING (AP) — China announced Friday that it will allow visa-free entry for citizens of five European countries and Malaysia as it tries to encourage more people to visit for business and tourism.

Starting Dec. 1, citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia will be allowed to enter China for up to 15 days without a visa. The trial program will be in effect for one year.

The aim is “to facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing.

China’s strict pandemic measures, which included required quarantines for all arrivals, discouraged many people from visiting for nearly three years. The restrictions were lifted early this year , but international travel has yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels.

China previously allowed citizens of Brunei, Japan and Singapore to enter without a visa but suspended that after the COVID-19 outbreak. It resumed visa-free entry for Brunei and Singapore in July but has not done so for Japan.

In the first six months of the year, China recorded 8.4 million entries and exits by foreigners, according to immigration statistics. That compares to 977 million for all of 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who was in Beijing for talks, welcomed the Chinese announcement and said France has decided in return to allow Chinese students who earn master’s degrees in France to stay in the country for five more years “to facilitate exchanges.”

The EU Chamber of Commerce in China expressed hope that more European nations would be given visa-free access soon. In a statement, it called the move “a tangible and practical improvement, which will also increase business confidence.”

The Chinese government has been seeking foreign investment to help boost a sluggish economy, and some businesspeople have been coming for trade fairs and meetings, including Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. Foreign tourists are still a rare sight compared to before the pandemic.

China offers visa-free entry for citizens of France, Germany, Italy

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Reporting by Joe Cash, Ethan Wang, Ryan Woo and Rene Wagner; Editing by Kim Coghill, Miral Fahmy and Toby Chopra

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Joe Cash reports on China’s economic affairs, covering domestic fiscal and monetary policy, key economic indicators, trade relations, and China’s growing engagement with developing countries. Before joining Reuters, he worked on UK and EU trade policy across the Asia-Pacific region. Joe studied Chinese at the University of Oxford and is a Mandarin speaker.

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Taiwan, China can resolve differences, ex-president says after meeting Xi

Taiwan and China can peacefully resolve their differences, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said on Thursday after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same culture and history.

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15-Day Visa Free Policy

Requirements for visa-free entry, china visa application service center, visa application fees (in eur), citizens of schengen countries, us citizens, citizens of other countries, 2024 holiday schedule of the embassy in berlin, 2024 holiday schedule of the cvasc in berlin.

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Traveling to China After Reopening – What’s Changed?

We offer the latest advice on traveling to China in 2023, including information on current Chinese visa application requirements, pre-flight testing, and travel tips.

UPDATE (November 1, 2023): China Customs announced that it will no longer require people leaving and entering China to fill in the Entry/Exit Health Declaration Card. This decision means that from this day forward, there are no more  COVID-era restrictions and requirements for travelers leaving and entering the country. However, anyone leaving or entering China who shows symptoms of or who has been diagnosed with an infectious disease is still required to declare their health status to Customs of their own volition. See our article for more details on this news here .

UPDATE (September 20, 2023): In a bid to attract more international visitors, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) introduced a simplified visa application process on September 20, 2023. This revision primarily focuses on the visa application form and entails two significant changes. Firstly, applicants are now required to list their travel history from the past year instead of the previous five years. Secondly, the educational background section has been streamlined to only request the highest level of education achieved.

These adjustments, according to MFA spokesperson Mao Ning, are intended to reduce the time applicants spend on visa forms and enhance overall efficiency. The MFA reaffirmed its dedication to fostering people-to-people interactions between China and other countries, emphasizing China’s commitment to high-quality development and global engagement.

UPDATE (August 28, 2023):  The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made a significant declaration that starting from August 30, 2023, travelers heading to China will not have to undergo mandatory pre-entry COVID-19 nucleic acid tests or antigen tests.

In March 2023, China announced that it had resumed issuing all types of visas , giving the official greenlight for foreign travelers and tourists to return to the country. This announcement followed months of gradual dismantling of COVID-19 travel restrictions, which saw the lifting of quarantines, vaccine and testing requirements, and travel codes.  

Domestic and international travel requirements have since been further relaxed so that there are currently almost no additional steps to take in relation to COVID-19 in order to travel to China.  

However, foreign travelers may still be confused when planning for their China trip, as it adopted a progressive approach for lifting restrictions, and the latest information is scattered across a series of announcements. Below we answer some common questions on China travel after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

Which Chinese visas are currently available?  

China resumed issuing all types of visas in March 2023. All of the same types of visas that were available prior to the pandemic are now available for application again.  

The visas that are currently available to travel to China are listed in the table below.  

Note that if you obtain a long-term visa, such as a work or student visa, you are required to convert the visa into a residence permit within a prescribed period of time, usually 30 days.

Is my 10 – year C hinese visa still valid?  

All multiple entry visas that were issued before March 28, 2020, that are still within the validity date can now be used to travel to China again . This includes 10-year visitor visas issued to citizens of the US and other countries. Note that you are usually only able to stay in China for a period of up to 60 days on this type of visa, and you will need to apply for another long-stay visa if you wish to stay longer than 60 days. 

I f the visa has expired since March 28, 2020 , you will be required to apply for a new visa before you can travel to China.  

How do I apply for a Chinese tourist visa in 2023?  

In most cases, foreigners must apply for a visa in order to travel to China. This is done through your nearest Chinese Visa Application Service Center, not the consulate or embassy. You must either be a citizen or have residency or another right to stay (such as a visa) in the country in which you are applying for the Chinese visa.

The requirements to apply for a visa vary depending on the type of visa you are applying for and the location in which you apply for it. It is therefore important to check the website of your local Chinese Visa Application Service Center for application requirements.  

Note that the duration of short-stay visas, such as tourism or business visas, can also vary depending on your specific situation, where you apply, and your nationality.  

China does offer some visa-free options for short-term travel. These include 144-hour , 72-hour, and 24-hour visa-free transit, which allows foreign travelers to enter China through designated ports and travel around a limited area for up to six days, provided they are continuing on to a third country after departing the country.  

At the end of November 2023, China also announced a 15-day visa-free entry policy for holders of ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, during the period from December 1, 2023, to November 30, 2024.

For more information on visa-free travel to China, see our Complete Guide to China’s Visa-Free Policies .  

What are the COVID-19 testing requirements to travel to China?  

There are no longer any COVID-19 testing requirements to enter or leave China. Starting from August 30, 2023, travelers bound for China were no longer required to undergo COVID-19 nucleic acid tests or antigen tests before their departure. In addition, from November 1, 2023, onward, China Customs ceased requiring travelers to fill in and show the Entry/Exit Health Declaration Card , removing the last COVID-era travel requirement.

In its announcement scrapping the health declaration card requirement, China Customs emphasized that people leaving and entering China who show symptoms of or who have been diagnosed with an infectious disease are still required to declare their health situation to Customs of their own volition. Symptoms may include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, or unexplained subcutaneous bleeding, according to the notice. This has been a requirement since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you report any symptoms, you may be taken aside for additional testing. If you test positive for COVID-19, you will be permitted to recover in your place of stay or seek medical help if required.

It’s important to stay updated with any further announcements or changes that may arise, as travel guidelines and policies can evolve in response to the ongoing global situation. Travelers are advised to refer to official sources such as the Chinese government’s official websites and diplomatic channels for the most accurate and up-to-date information before planning their trips to China.

Are there any restrictions on traveling within China?  

China has removed all domestic travel restrictions, meaning that people are now free to cross provincial and regional borders without having to show negative COVID-19 tests or health codes.  

Note that if you enter China on one of the short-term transit entry permits, you are not permitted to travel outside a certain designated area, which will depend on your port of entry. For information on where you can travel on this entry permit, see our article here .  

Do I need to take any COVID-19 precautions while traveling in China?  

COVID-19 is still present in China, and it is therefore advisable to take common sense prevention measures when traveling around the country. These precautions are the same as the ones you would take in other countries and include regularly washing your hands or using hand sanitizer, wearing a mask in public, and avoiding crowded areas where possible, among others.  

Mask mandates on public transport and in public areas, such as restaurants, bars, stores, malls, and parks, have been removed. However, the government still advises people to wear them of their own volition.  

Wearing a mask is still mandatory in nursing homes and medical institutions. You should also wear a mask if you test positive for COVID-19.  

What happens if I test positive for COVID-19 while in China?  

You are no longer required to go to a quarantine facility if you test positive for COVID-19.

The current official advice in China if you test positive for COVID-19 is to self-isolate at home if you are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. If you have moderate to severe symptoms, you should seek medical help, and you may be hospitalized if your condition is serious.    

It is advisable to purchase medical insurance before traveling to China, as staff in public health institutions may only speak Chinese and private healthcare is very expensive.  

It is also advisable to bring fever medicine, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, as you may not be able to buy the same brands you are used to taking in your home country, and staff at pharmacies usually only speak Chinese.  

(This article was originally published on June 9, 2023 , and was last updated on November 29 , 2023.)

China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates . The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done so since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at [email protected] .

Dezan Shira & Associates has offices in Vietnam , Indonesia , Singapore , United States , Germany , Italy , India , Dubai (UAE) , and Russia , in addition to our trade research facilities along the Belt & Road Initiative . We also have partner firms assisting foreign investors in The Philippines , Malaysia , Thailand , Bangladesh .

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Germany and China Try to Reset Relations for a Changed World

This week the two countries will restart government consultations after a pandemic hiatus, but amid the war in Ukraine and rising U.S., Chinese tensions, common ground may be elusive.

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By Erika Solomon and Nicole Hong

BERLIN — When Germany and China launched their government consultations a decade ago, Angela Merkel was still chancellor and their relations seemed an endless opportunity for trade and profit. The dialogues were a time for pomp and circumstance, trade deals and signing ceremonies, red carpets and military salutes.

But on Tuesday, Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and China’s premier, Li Qiang, will relaunch the consultations after a three-year hiatus during the pandemic in a very different world — one with new calculations over political vulnerabilities and economic dependencies.

The two countries return to the talks nearly as estranged partners, their relations strained by Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing’s deepening courtship with Moscow and China’s simmering tensions with the United States, Germany’s most important ally.

“These consultations seem out of sync with the times,” said Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. “Government-to-government consultations are usually something you would do with your democratic allies. The challenge is to balance the new realism we are facing with the old, Merkel-style of doing China consultations.”

These consultations will be the first for Mr. Scholz, as well as the first visit to Berlin for Mr. Li as premier, who will be accompanied by a large train of ministers. There is little doubt their missions will be at odds, even as they try to shape areas of common interest.

For Germany, the meeting will be an opportunity to assert a new stance, one in which China is still one of its most critical economic partners but also a “systemic rival.” That means Berlin will try to shield its critical technologies and encourage its businesses to diversify away from Beijing.

For China, it will be an opportunity to convince its largest European trading partner to stick to business as usual — and drive a wedge between Berlin and Washington.

How to maintain necessary economic ties with China, in the shadow of growing U.S. pressure to align with it against Beijing, is a balancing act Germany is still struggling to master.

One German official privately called it Berlin’s “three-body problem.” Keenly aware that Washington is its security guarantor, German officials no longer have the luxury of treating its economic and political interests separately.

Relationships it once treated as bilateral and distinct — German-Chinese, German-American and American-Chinese — now feel tangled together. Security concerns have also intruded on economic ambitions in ways that did not preoccupy Germany before.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced Germany to reconsider economic relationships it had taken for granted, like its dependency on cheap gas from Russia, which once provided 50 percent of its supply. Germany managed to pivot to other supplies, narrowly avoiding a severe energy crisis, though not a recession.

By comparison, an event like a Chinese attack on Taiwan that sets off a U.S.-Chinese military confrontation would be far more painful. German officials believe they would be compelled to get involved, after having pushed so hard for Asian nations to support Europe against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a violation of territorial sovereignty.

The economic consequences would be even more severe: More than a million German jobs depend directly on China, and many more indirectly. Nearly half of all European investments in China are from Germany, and almost half of German manufacturing businesses rely on China for some part of their supply chain.

For China, too, this is a trying moment.

Its post-pandemic economic recovery has been slower than expected. Some Western companies have also been wary of making new investments in China, as President Xi Jinping embarks on a push to fortify national security this year — including a broadening of counterespionage laws that has heightened police scrutiny of Western companies in China.

Relations with Germany are especially important: It is China’s largest European trading partner and source of European foreign investment.

“The fact that Germany has been talking about de-risking or becoming less dependent on the Chinese market naturally worries China,” said Hu Chunchun, an associate professor at Shanghai International Studies University.

During talks in Berlin, German officials will most likely offer China a sense of what is coming in their long awaited China strategy paper, which was delayed by months of internal wrangling within Germany’s government over how tough its stance should be. The paper is now expected to be made public in July.

A leaked original draft reflected a much tougher line on the need to diversify economic interests away from China, particularly in areas like critical infrastructure, as well as raw materials for technologies needed for a carbon-neutral economy, such as solar modules and electric car batteries.

That tone is expected to have been softened somewhat under pressure from Mr. Scholz, who is wary of too much shock to an economy that has dipped into recession.

German officials will make clear that they have no intention of changing their “One China” policy, acknowledging Beijing’s goal of unifying with Taiwan while maintaining “friendly, but unofficial” relations with the Taiwanese.

They will also underline a message Mr. Scholz has repeatedly stressed: that Germany has no plans to “decouple” from China, as U.S. officials once urged. But, rather, it will lean into the concept of “de-risking.”

The problem, analysts say, is defining what de-risking actually means.

“Does it mean getting rid of risk or minimizing it? How fast do you do it? There is a lot of leeway in that term,” said Mr. Benner. “Scholz is walking a fine line. He does ‘de-risking lite.’ He is very big on diversification, but he doesn’t want to discourage investment.”

In April, Chinese officials raised concerns with Germany about news reports that said Berlin was considering limiting the sale of chemicals used in semiconductors to Beijing. The U.S. has been seeking to enlist European and other allies in its push to block Beijing’s access to critical technologies like semiconductors, an effort that has infuriated China.

“They need to keep the Europeans as far away from the Americans as possible,” said Mikko Huotari, executive director of the Mercator Institute for China Studies, of the Chinese delegation’s goal this week. “Germany plays a huge role in that.”

Beijing is still banking on the fact that many European companies rely so heavily on Chinese consumers that they cannot afford to distance themselves from China, said Paul Haenle, a former director for China on the National Security Council in both the Bush and Obama administrations.

“Chinese leadership has calculated that Europe is still very much at play,” he said.

With Germany, in particular, China has cards to play: The biggest and most powerful German businesses — the chemical producer BASF, and automakers like Volkswagen — have bucked the trend of many other, increasingly wary German companies, and doubled down on their investments in China.

Late last year, China lifted its strict pandemic restrictions and reopened its economy, rolling out the red carpet to encourage foreign investors to pour money into China. Volkswagen’s chief executive, Oliver Blume, was one of the first multinational business leaders to visit China. The country is the automaker’s largest sales market.

“China feels that because of this dependency from a handful of big German companies, in the end, Germany will always be able to compromise or at least strike a deal with China,” said Philippe Le Corre, a senior fellow for the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.

Indeed, Germany’s biggest challenge may not be a reckoning with Beijing but with its own companies — and making clear that in the future, they must proceed in their economic dependencies on China at their own risk.

It makes the path for Germany to transform its relationship with China possible, but risky, the analyst Mr. Huotari said: “There is a way. Whether it is going to be a painful one, we have to see.”

Erika Solomon reported from Berlin, and Nicole Hong from Seoul. Olivia Wang contributed reporting from Hong Kong.

Nicole Hong is a reporter covering China. She previously worked for The Wall Street Journal, where she was part of a team that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting. More about Nicole Hong

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China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, met in Beijing . The visit came days after the United States threatened new sanctions against Chinese companies if they aided Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has condemned recent drone strikes at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant , saying “such reckless attacks significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident.”

Russian rockets slammed into residential buildings in Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said, killing at least seven people and injuring at least 11 more in the latest assault on Ukraine’s second-largest city .

Conditional Support: Ukraine wants a formal invitation to join NATO, but the alliance has no appetite for taking on a new member  that would draw it into the biggest land war in Europe since 1945.

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Germany's Scholz to travel to China for meeting with President Xi

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is travelling to China on Saturday for a three-day visit, during which he will meet President Xi Jinping.

In addition to the capital Beijing, Scholz will visit Chongqing and Shanghai, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin on Monday. The chancellor will be accompanied by a business delegation.

Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir, Transport Minister Volker Wissing and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke will also be part of the official party.

This is the German chancellor's second trip to China since taking office in December 2021. His inaugural visit in November 2022 was only a day trip due to the coronavirus pandemic. This time, he is taking three days - more than ever before for a single country on a single trip.

The main topics are likely to include the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the tensions between China and Taiwan and a number of economic issues.

The first stop is Chongqing, which is located on the Yangtze River in central China and is considered the largest city in the world, with around 32 million people living in the greater administrative area. Shanghai in south-east China is regarded as China's most important economic and financial centre.

Scholz plans to visit German companies in both cities. A speech at a university and a discussion with students are also planned in Shanghai. In Beijing, Scholz will meet Chinese President Xi and Premier Li Qiang. The heads of government will also take part in a meeting of the Sino-German Economic Committee.

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Germany’s Scholz heads to China amid questions over strategy

Scholz’s coalition government seems uncertain about what sort of relationship it wants with Beijing

R ussia’s war in Ukraine has woken Germany up to the risk of having an economy that is too reliant on raw materials provided by an autocratic strongman. But as the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz , heads to Beijing at the end of this week, there are questions as to whether he would rather leave lessons from the recent past at home in Berlin.

Scholz is the first representative of a liberal democracy to be granted a state visit to China since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in 2019, and will be the first major political leader to meet Xi Jinping since the Chinese president consolidated his power with a shake-up at the top of the Communist party.

He will make a one-day visit to Beijing on Friday as a representative of a government that has vowed to turn a page from the Angela Merkel era, when Germany pushed for closer economic cooperation in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and cemented its relationship over 12 state visits to China in Merkel’s 16-year tenure.

The current German three-party coalition government, by contrast, has announced its intention to reduce its economic dependence and strengthen relations with democratic states in Asia. In the coalition deal signed at the end of last year, it labelled its relationship with China as a “systemic rivalry” and emphasised the need to address “geopolitical and security policy questions together with the United States and critical Indo-Pacific partners such as Japan, Australia and India”.

Such China-sceptic noises are echoed by Germany’s intelligence community, with the head of the domestic spy agency warning at a recent parliamentary hearing that China represented a greater threat than Russia. “If Russia is a storm, China is climate change,” said Thomas Haldenwang.

Unlike his predecessors Merkel and Gerhard Schröder, Scholz in April made Tokyo, not Beijing, the destination of his first official trip to Asia. Allies claimed at the time that it was symbolic of a reassessment of Germany’s geopolitical priorities.

In an op-ed published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Wednesday, Scholz said China was becoming more preoccupied with questions relating to national autonomy and security. “If China changes, our dealings with China have to change too,” he wrote.

But until now, the chancellor has given few clues as to what this reassessment will mean in practice. Worse still, there are fears that the reassessment has been reassessed once more. Last week, Scholz’s chancellory pushed through a deal that allows the Chinese state-owned shipping company Cosco to buy a 24.9% stake in three terminals in Germany’s largest port, in Hamburg, against vocal criticism from his Green and liberal party coalition partners.

This week, Scholz will travel east, much like Merkel used to, with a delegation of CEOs in tow. They represent, among others, the chemicals firm BASF and the carmakers Volkswagen and BMW – the three companies that dominated European investment in the Chinese market last year, even as other business sectors on the continent grew more wary of pouring money into the country.

“The decision to travel to Beijing with a delegation of industry leaders is problematic,” said Noah Barkin, an expert in Chinese-German relations at the US research firm Rhodium Group. “It’s difficult to deliver tough messages on Russia, Taiwan and human rights while your CEOs are sitting in the room next door wanting to talk about investment.”

He added: “It’s understandable that Merkel stuck to a policy of engagement with China at the end of her tenure. It’s less understandable that Scholz is returning to that strategy after less than a year in power.”

One explanation is that Germany’s government, whose three-party stakeholder structure makes the slow work of consensus-building more essential than ever, is still uncertain about what exactly its China strategy is meant to be.

At a recent foreign policy debate in Berlin , Scholz’s chief of staff, Wolfgang Schmidt, expressed deep scepticism about the idea “that we should decouple” from China. “Yes, there is a danger that China might do that,” he said. “But that would impoverish the whole world, including China.” A straw man argument, critics say, since no political figure in the west has argued for completely severing economic ties with China since the end of Donald Trump’s term in the White House.

“Systemic rivalry” may be written into the Scholz’s coalition agreement, but how deep that rivalry is meant to go has yet to be fully debated. “Does ‘systemic rivalry’ only refer to a conflict in the geopolitical arena, or is it about a rivalry between fundamentally opposed political and economic beliefs?” asked Tim Rühlig, a China expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). “I suspect Scholz’s team in the chancellory is still trying to figure that out.”

With the German government facing a populist backlash over spiralling energy bills this winter, and business associations nervously agitating over gas rationing scenarios, it may seem wise for Scholz to take his time. Pivoting on decades of military and energy policy is already such a costly and politically risky undertaking that Germany’s leaders will be tempted to leave the China question dangling for a bit longer.

Scholz wrote in his op-ed this week that the painful experience of the cold war meant that his country had no interest in global power structures once again coalescing around two blocs.

Rühlig said: “There’s an argument to be made that the fallout from the Ukraine war is already putting a lot of existential strain on the German economy, and that the chancellor’s focus for now has to be on keeping the ship on course. If that is the view, then it may make sense to continue making some deals like the Hamburg port terminal one.”

Scholz’s allies point out that under the Cosco deal, the Chinese company will obtain a smaller stake than previously debated, of a few terminals rather than the entire port, and with a bar on the investor obtaining veto rights on strategic business decisions.

“But the key question for Scholz then is how long it is until there will be a major military conflict involving China,” said Rühlig. “Personally, I think an escalation of the Taiwan situation within the next five years isn’t that unlikely.”

An escalation in tensions between Beijing and the west, potentially involving sanctions on European companies active in China, would not only hit Germany’s car and chemicals industry. Goods worth €246.1bn were traded between Germany and China in 2021, making China the most important trading partner of Europe’s largest economy for the sixth consecutive year. But with China accounting for only about 8% of German products shipped abroad, the country’s export dependence is less than that of the US, Japan or Australia, all of which send higher proportions of their exports to China.

When it comes to raw materials that are key for the digital economy and renewable energy technologies, however, Germany and the rest of Europe are still heavily reliant on China’s capacity for mining magnesium, rare earths and bismuth, or refining lithium, manganese and nickel. A Chinese invasion of Taiwan could kibosh German plans for expanding in electric cars, wind and solar farms.

With such a scenario in mind, analysts such as Rühlig say reducing Germany’s strategic vulnerabilities in China should be a matter of utmost urgency. “You may be able to wean yourself off Russian energy within two winters,” Rühlig said. “Opening up new mines to unearth raw materials we currently get from China takes a decade.”

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Top German CEOs join Scholz's China trip despite 'de-risking' push

B ERLIN/FRANKFURT/MUNICH, April 4 (Reuters) - Germany's top corporate brass will join Chancellor Olaf Scholz when he visits China later this month, reflecting an ongoing dependence on the world's second-biggest economy despite efforts to spread exposure more evenly across the globe.

Roland Busch, chief executive of Siemens and chair and president of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, will be among the executives on the trip at the end of next week, the company said.

Mercedes-Benz - which counts China's Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd and Geely Chair Li Shufu as its two top shareholders - also confirmed that CEO Ola Kaellenius would participate.

The trip is Scholz's first to China since Berlin drew up a China strategy last summer that urged a "de-risking" to reduce economic exposure to the Asian powerhouse, but was vague on specific measures or binding targets.

German chancellors are usually accompanied by high-level business delegations on major foreign visits and the list of executives for the trip underscores China's status as Germany's biggest trading partner.

China also remains extremely important for German industry, most notably carmakers, which operate several local joint ventures with Chinese partners in what is the world's biggest auto market.

Last year, German direct investment in China rose to a record 11.9 billion euros ($12.9 billion), showing firms continue to plow money into a country that Berlin calls a systemic rival.

BMW boss Oliver Zipse will also travel with Scholz, two people familiar with the matter said. The same goes for Miguel Lopez, who leads German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, the steel-to-submarines maker said.

The list of CEOs is not definitive and more could join as the trip is finalized.

While Germany's biggest firms, including BASF and Volkswagen, continue to bank on China as a growth motor, some smaller firms have started to change tack.

Germany's mid-sized corporations have begun to take steps to ringfence or legally separate their Chinese businesses, walking a tightrope between staying engaged in the market and preparing for a worst-case scenario should Beijing invade Taiwan.

($1 = 0.9208 euros) (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Christoph Steitz and Alexander Huebner; Editing by Matthias Williams and Mark Potter)

Ahead of Scholz Trip, Study Shows German Economy Still Dependent on China

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China November 4, 2022. Kay Nietfeld/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - The German economy is still highly dependent on China for a number of products and raw materials despite efforts to diversify to other markets, a study by the German Economic Institute showed on Tuesday.

While overall imports from China dropped by nearly a fifth between 2022 and 2023, the share of product groups for which Germany relies on China for more than half of its imports has barely changed, including chemicals, computers and solar cells.

For some categories, such as pharmaceuticals and rare earths such as scandium and yttrium, Germany's dependence has increased.

"A clear structural de-risking – in the sense of a continuing trend towards further significant declines in imports – is therefore not yet apparent," the study said.

Some 73 product groups were removed from the list of goods for which Germany relies heavily on China but a similar number was added in their place, meaning the total number fell only slightly to 200 from 213.

The study was published ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's trip to China this week, with companies pressing for what they characterise as fairer access to the Chinese market and Europe worried about Chinese excess capacity flooding its market.

Photos You Should See - April 2024

The trip is Scholz's first to China since Berlin drew up a China strategy last year that urged a "de-risking" to reduce economic exposure to the world's second-largest economy, but was vague on specific measures or binding targets.

Germany has become increasingly wary of tethering itself to a country it has described as both a partner and a systemic rival, in particular after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 laid bare Europe's reliance on Russian gas shipments.

Scholz will take with him chief executives from the likes of Siemens and Mercedes, as well as cabinet ministers, underscoring Beijing's continued importance.

(Reporting by Matthias Williams, Editing by Rachel More and Tomasz Janowski)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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Yellen's China trip: With desire to stabilize China-U.S. ties, uncertainty remains

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has wrapped up a six-day trip to China, her second since July 2023.

Yellen's visit, against the backdrop of intensifying China-U.S. economic, technological and trade competition, is considered a positive step towards stabilizing ties between the world's two largest economies.

However, Chinese experts say the efforts may be impeded by unfavorable policies towards China by the White House amid U.S. presidential elections. 

'Positive role' in stabilizing China-U.S. ties

In China, Yellen visited the southern coastal metropolis of Guangzhou and the capital city Beijing. She held talks with high-ranking Chinese officials including Premier Li Qiang , Vice Premier He Lifeng and Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an.

Focusing on the implementation of the important consensus between the two countries' heads of state, the two sides had candid, pragmatic and constructive discussions on the macroeconomic situation of the two countries and the world. 

"Yellen's visit to China has played a threefold positive role in stabilizing China-U.S. relations," Yan Zhanyu, a scholar on international relations at China's University of International Business and Economics, told CGTN.

"First, Yellen's visit consolidated the strategic communication mechanism initiated by both countries during her last year's visit to China in September, facilitating bilateral discussions on economic and financing policies," Yan said.

Two significant new initiatives were launched during Yellen's latest trip: one is the Exchange on Balanced Growth in the Domestic and Global Economies; the other is the Joint Treasury-People's Bank of China Cooperation and Exchange on Anti-Money Laundering.

"The launch of two new initiatives will facilitate the progress of working together on the common good and resolving differences in a pragmatic manner," Gao Zhijun, an assistant research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in a commentary to CGTN.

The technical nature of such exchanges will also mitigate political and ideological influences, ensuring both teams concentrate on the practical issues, Gao added.

What's more, Yellen's visit to China will also inject new vitality into the future development of China-U.S. relations as the trip has demonstrated positive signals of people-to-people exchanges, according to Yan.

In Guangzhou and Beijing, Yellen's orders at local restaurants went viral on Chinese social media platforms.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 7, 2024. /Xinhua

Possibility of holding back ties

During this trip, Yellen had "extensive, frank, and productive" meetings with key Chinese officials and voiced firm opposition to China-U.S. decoupling on several occasions, warning a bid to decouple from China would be "disastrous."

However, Yellen also raised concerns over certain aspects of the Chinese economy, particularly what she said was "overcapacity" in emerging industries such as electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar energy.

"China is now simply too large for the rest of the world to absorb this enormous capacity," she said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday. Compared to her last visit, Yellen paid much more attention to this issue, according to Gao.

"Yellen's visit to China is a demonstration of 'good cop, bad cop strategy' used by the U.S. in its hard-line strategy against China," Yan said. It is an effort by the U.S. to maintain normal channels of high-level communication with China to stabilize economic ties, while conveying Biden's tough policies against China, he noted.

"Amid a U.S. presidential election year, it is possible that the White House will deploy new sanctions to pressure the Chinese side to garner political support. This will hold back the progress of stabilizing the bilateral relationship," said Gao.

(Cover: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a press conference in Beijing, China, April 8, 2024. /CFP)

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• Solar Eclipse 2024

See the 2024 Solar Eclipse’s Path of Totality

A total solar eclipse is expected to pass through the United States on April 8, 2024, giving stargazers across the country the opportunity to view the celestial phenomenon in which the sun is completely covered by the moon.

The eclipse will enter the U.S. in Texas and exit in Maine. It is the last time a total solar eclipse will be visible in the contiguous United States until 2044.

Here's what to know about the path of the eclipse and where you can see it.

Read More : How Animals and Nature React to an Eclipse

Where can you see the total solar eclipse?

The eclipse will cross through North America, passing over parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. 

The eclipse will enter the United States in Texas, and travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse.

Much of the eclipse's visibility depends on the weather. A cloudy day could prevent visitors from seeing the spectacle altogether.

When does the solar eclipse start and end?

The solar eclipse will begin in Mexico’s Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT. It will exit continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, at 5:16 p.m. NDT.

The longest duration of totality—which is when the moon completely covers the sun — will be 4 minutes, 28 seconds, near Torreón, Mexico. Most places along the path of totality will see a totality duration between 3.5 and 4 minutes.

Read More : The Eclipse Could Bring $1.5 Billion Into States on the Path of Totality

Where’s the best place to see the total solar eclipse?

The best place to witness the event is along the path of totality. Thirteen states will be along the path of totality, and many towns across the country are preparing for the deluge of visitors— planning eclipse watch parties and events in the days leading up to totality.

In Rochester, NY, the Rochester Museum and Science Center is hosting a multi-day festival that includes a range of events and activities. Russellville, Arkansas will host an event with activities including live music, science presentations, tethered hot-air balloon rides, and telescope viewings.

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Write to Simmone Shah at [email protected]

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