Germany should rethink China strategy, SPD lawmaker says

BERLIN (Reuters) -A senior lawmaker from Germany's Social Democrats, a junior partner in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition government, called on Saturday for a change of China policy after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul postponed a trip to Beijing.

Wadephul, a member of Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), cancelled the trip on Friday after Beijing confirmed only one of his requested meetings, a move that pointed to rising tensions over trade and security matters.

"The short-term cancellation of the trip to China does not bode well for an improvement in tense German-Chinese relations," said Adis Ahmetovic, foreign policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats (SDP).

"We need to rethink Germany's China strategy. More than ever, we need an active, strategic foreign policy that focuses on dialogue, clarity and long-term interests," he said.

Germany is Europe's biggest economy. China is Germany's biggest trading partner and the largest economy in Asia.

Wadephul told Reuters this week he planned to urge China to relax export restrictions on rare earths and semiconductors during his trip, which had been due to start on Sunday, and underlined fair trade as a cornerstone of successful relations.

In a strategy on China agreed in 2023, Berlin urged the "de-risking" of the two countries' economic relationship, calling Beijing a "partner, competitor and systemic rival".

China provides Germany with critical components such as rare earths and chips, two areas that have been subject to severe bottlenecks as global trade tensions intensify.

"Direct dialogue with China is particularly important in a phase of global tension," Ahmetovic said.

Talks should be deepened "especially on issues of peace, security, the economy, trade and human rights," he said.

Juergen Hardt, foreign policy spokesperson for the CDU, said China was trying to use trade policy as a means of exerting pressure and that Wadephul had been right to postpone the trip.

"The German government is not playing along with this game," he said, adding that Germany continued to value good and fair relations with Beijing.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Christoph Steitz, Editing by Timothy Heritage)