Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany arrived in China on Wednesday with an outstretched hand and a list of complaints for his hosts, asking for closer diplomatic ties but also relief from economic policies that he said were impeding “fair competition.”

德国总理默茨周三抵达中国，他向东道主伸出橄榄枝，同时也列出了一系列不满，一方面呼吁深化外交关系，同时也要求中国调整他所称的阻碍“公平竞争”的经济政策。

Mr. Merz, who took pains before the trip to say he would not be “lecturing” Beijing, laid out his critiques in a speech at a meeting of the Advisory Council of German-Chinese Business, to an audience that included Premier Li Qiang, China’s second-highest ranking official.

默茨在出访前特意强调，不会对北京“说教”，但在中德经济顾问委员会座谈会上，他直面包括中国第二号人物、国务院总理李强在内的听众，阐述了批评意见。

The chancellor was more blunt and more specific in his criticism than other western leaders, including the prime ministers of Britain and Canada, who have recently trekked to Beijing to reset relations with China amid the turmoil caused by President Trump.

相较于近期因特朗普政府引发的动荡、纷纷访问北京试图重启对华关系的英国、加拿大等国领导人，默茨的批评更为直率、具体。

Mr. Merz called on China to reduce subsidies for its domestic manufacturers, to allow the value of its currency, the renminbi, to rise, and to ensure continued exports of raw materials, such as critical minerals — all of which would benefit German industry. Doing so, he said, would allow Germany and China to forge a tighter bond.

默茨呼吁中国减少对本国制造商的补贴、允许人民币升值、保障关键矿产等原材料的持续出口——这些举措均将惠及德国工业。他表示，这些举措将使得德中两国缔结更紧密的纽带。

“In view of the uncertainties caused by customs policy that we see around the world,” Mr. Merz said, addressing Mr. Li directly, “we can now set a different example in our bilateral relations, through the reliability and security of the economic relations between our two countries.”

“鉴于全球范围内关税政策带来的不确定性，”默茨直接对李强说道，“我们如今可以通过两国经济关系的可靠性与安全性，在双边关系中树立全新典范。”

Following a series of discussions with Mr. Li and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the chancellor appeared pleased. He announced a Chinese pledge to order up to 120 new aircraft from the European aerospace giant Airbus, and said more deals could follow.

在与李强及中国国家主席习近平举行一系列会谈后，这位德国总理显得心情愉悦。他宣布，中方承诺向欧洲航空巨头空客订购多达120架新飞机，并表示后续可能还将达成更多协议。

“After today, I am very optimistic,” Mr. Merz said. “This is a good path for German-Chinese relations, both in the coming months and years.”

“今日之后，我十分乐观，”默茨称。“对德中关系来说，未来数月乃至数年，这都是一个好的发展路径。”

Mr. Merz’s approach in China bore similarities to his visit to Washington last year. There, he praised Mr. Trump and stressed the importance of Germany’s alliance with the United States, even as he pushed the president to bend toward Mr. Merz’s position on support for Ukraine and other issues.

默茨此次访华策略，与去年访美时的做法如出一辙。当时他既赞扬特朗普，强调德美同盟的重要性，同时也推动美国总统在支持乌克兰等议题上向自己的立场靠拢。

2025年，中国嘉兴的一家家具厂。默茨呼吁中国削减对国内制造商的补贴，称此举不公平地影响了竞争。

Mr. Xi, in his own remarks, offered sweeping language about the partnership and their shared destiny, while avoiding mentioning the specific trade frictions Mr. Merz and other German leaders have long raised.

在讲话中，习近平用宏大笼统的措辞谈及两国伙伴关系与共同命运，却未提及默茨及其他德国领导人长期以来提出的具体贸易摩擦问题。

“The more the world becomes chaotic and intertwined, the more China and Germany must strengthen their strategic communication and enhance strategic mutual trust,” Mr. Xi told Mr. Merz at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

“世界越是变乱交织，中德两国越要加强战略沟通、增进战略互信，”习近平在北京钓鱼台国宾馆对默茨表示。

Mr. Xi has been working to solidify ties with Washington’s closest partners at a time when many of them are feeling alienated by the Trump administration. Mr. Merz is the latest Western leader to visit Mr. Xi since December, following the president of France, and the prime ministers of Canada and Britain.

当前，美国诸多亲密伙伴因特朗普政府而感到与美国疏离，习近平正着力巩固与它们的关系。自去年12月以来，继法国总统、加拿大与英国首相之后，默茨是最新一位访华的西方领导人。

默茨与中国第二号人物李强总理周三在北京会晤。

Wednesday’s meeting took place as tensions between Europe and the United States are under growing pressure. European Union officials said on Monday that they would pause work on implementing their trade deal with the United States after the Supreme Court ruled last week that Mr. Trump’s tariffs were unlawful. Many of the levies agreed in that deal are higher than the 10 percent duties that the president has since imposed on global imports.

周三会谈举行之际，欧美关系正面临日益加剧的压力。欧盟官员周一表示，在美国最高法院上周裁定特朗普关税违法后，欧盟将暂停推进与美国的贸易协定落地。该协定中约定的多项关税，高于特朗普此后对全球进口商品征收的10%关税。

Mr. Trump will likely be watching to see how close Mr. Merz draws to Mr. Xi. Mr. Trump had warned that it was “dangerous” for Britain and Canada to look to China as the answer to their economic woes, after their prime ministers’ recent visits to Beijing

特朗普很可能会密切关注默茨与习近平的亲近程度。此前英加领导人访华后，特朗普曾警告，两国将中国视为解决经济困境的出路是“危险的”。

Mr. Merz was accompanied on his two-day visit by the heads of more than two dozen German companies, including Volkswagen, BMW and Siemens. He was to meet with executives at Mercedes-Benz in Beijing on Thursday before traveling south to the city of Hangzhou to visit the headquarters of a Chinese robotics firm, Unitree Robotics, and meet with the chairman of Siemens Energy in China.

默茨此次为期两天的访华行程，有大众、宝马、西门子等20余家德国企业负责人随行。周四，他将在北京与梅赛德斯-奔驰高管会面，随后南下杭州，参观中国机器人企业宇树科技的总部，并与西门子能源中国的董事长会谈。

Germany’s relations with China have become strained in recent years over complaints that Beijing was employing unfair practices that had contributed to a growing trade imbalance that has led to a flood of Chinese exports into Europe. In 2023, Germany defined China as a “partner, competitor and systemic rival,” and it has moved to reduce its dependency on Chinese goods and tightened export controls.

近年来，德中关系因北京被指采取不公平做法而趋于紧张，这些做法加剧了贸易失衡，导致中国商品大量涌入欧洲。2023年，德国将中国定义为“伙伴、竞争者与系统性对手”，并着手降低对华商品依赖、收紧出口管制。

Ties have also been tense because of Beijing’s support for Russia during the war in Ukraine.

此外，北京在俄乌冲突中对俄罗斯的支持，也令两国关系紧张。

Mr. Xi and Mr. Merz discussed the war, according to an official Chinese summary of their meeting, which referred to the conflict as a “crisis.” The exchange appeared to break little ground, according to the report of the discussion in Chinese state media, though Mr. Merz said afterward that he welcomed China’s “commitment to peace in the region.”

根据中方发布的会谈官方摘要，习近平与默茨就俄乌冲突展开讨论，中方将这场冲突称为“危机”。中国官媒的报道显示，此次交流似乎未取得实质性突破，但默茨事后表示，欢迎中国“对地区和平的承诺”。

Mr. Xi reiterated China’s longstanding position that the conflict should be resolved through “dialogue and negotiation” and that the “legitimate concerns of all parties” should be addressed — language that has frustrated European leaders because it avoids assigning blame to Russia and implicitly validates Moscow’s justifications for the full-scale invasion.

习近平重申了中方一贯立场，称冲突应通过“对话谈判”解决，兼顾“各方合理关切”——这一措辞令欧洲领导人不满，因其回避谴责俄罗斯，并默许了莫斯科全面入侵的借口。

Germany has hoped that China could use its influence over Russia to help work toward a peace agreement.

德国曾希望中国能利用对俄影响力，协助推动达成和平协议。

Mr. Merz also said on Wednesday that he told Mr. Xi that Germany opposed any effort by China to use military force against Taiwan.

默茨周三还表示，他已告知习近平，德国反对中国采用武力针对台湾。

Beijing is hoping to persuade Berlin to stop labeling China as a “systemic rival” and abandon its efforts to “de-risk,” or distance German businesses from China.

北京则希望说服柏林，停止将中国贴上“系统性对手”的标签，并放弃让德国企业与中国保持距离的“去风险”努力。

Chinese officials and state media have portrayed Mr. Merz’s visit as long overdue and a reset in ties that is beneficial for both countries. Beijing also needs Europe to keep its markets open to China’s exports, a major driver of growth in a Chinese economy hobbled by a yearslong property crisis.

中国官员和官方媒体将默茨的此次访问描述为一场迟来的、对两国都有益的双边关系重启。中国经济因持续多年的房地产危机陷入困境，出口是其增长的重要动力，北京也需要欧洲向中国出口产品保持市场开放。

2024年中国武汉某住宅地产开发项目。由于国内经济仍受房地产危机拖累，北京需要欧洲保持市场对中国出口产品的开放。

China is “concerned about trade protectionism, not only from Trump, but also from Europe, which may impose restrictions on Chinese products,” said Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University.

南京大学国际关系教授朱锋表示：“中国担忧贸易保护主义，不仅来自特朗普，也来自可能对中国产品设限的欧洲。”

Yet China no longer presents the same opportunities to Germany that it once did. German firms have seen their profits in the country steadily erode as Chinese companies have gained market share. The same is happening globally for the likes of German carmakers, chemical producers and machinery manufacturers that are trying to compete with Chinese rivals, resulting in the loss of thousands of industrial jobs in Germany each month.

然而，如今的中国已不再能为德国提供昔日那样的机遇。随着中国企业抢占市场份额，德国企业在华利润持续缩水。德国车企、化工企业、机械制造商等在全球范围内与中国竞争对手竞争时也面临同样的局面，导致德国每月流失数以千计的工业岗位。

“China was a driver of German prosperity in past decades,” said Noah Barkin, an expert on European-Chinese relations at Rhodium Group, a research firm. “Now it represents the biggest external threat to Germany’s economic well-being.”

研究机构荣鼎集团的欧中关系专家诺亚·巴金称：“过去几十年，中国是德国繁荣的引擎。如今，它却成为德国经济福祉最大的外部威胁。”