Merz says Germany, China must overcome trade gaps 'together'
CNA
HANGZHOU: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ended his two-day visit to China on Thursday (Feb 26) in the tech hub of Hangzhou, identifying "challenges that we must overcome together" after meeting President Xi Jinp
HANGZHOU: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ended his two-day visit to China on Thursday (Feb 26) in the tech hub of Hangzhou, identifying "challenges that we must overcome together" after meeting President Xi Jinping and announcing an Airbus deal.
Merz's first official visit to China came as Berlin and Beijing seek to build on decades-old economic ties to weather global uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz and erratic foreign policies.
China, the world's number two economy, overtook the United States last year to become Germany's biggest trade partner. At the same time, Berlin regards the Communist Party-run state as a systemic rival to the West.
The German leader was accompanied in China by a large delegation of business leaders, including executives of auto giants Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes.
Merz visited a Mercedes plant in Beijing on Thursday morning, where he was shown a demonstration of self-driving vehicles.
The rapid expansion of nickel refineries in Indonesia has transformed some rural areas into major production hubs. CNA travelled to Weda Bay in North Maluku — the world's largest nickel production hub, to find out more about the environmental impact of this development.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last provided an update in March 2024 and victims' relatives remain in the dark about what caused the plane to nosedive from cruising altitude rather than land in Guangzhou as planned.
The rapid expansion of nickel refineries in Indonesia has transformed some rural areas into major production hubs. CNA travelled to Weda Bay in North Maluku — the world's largest nickel production hub, to find out more about the environmental impact of this development.
TEHRAN: Iran threatened on Sunday (Mar 22) to attack key infrastructure across the Middle East if US President Donald Trump follows through on his vow to "obliterate" the Islamic republic's power plants
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last provided an update in March 2024 and victims' relatives remain in the dark about what caused the plane to nosedive from cruising altitude rather than land in Guangzhou as planned.
The United States in 2019 approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan but the project has been hit by issues including software problems.
Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the war launched by the US and Israel.
As cities with high EV adoption cut emissions, the villages supplying the batteries bear the burden of environmental damage. CNA travels to Indonesia’s North Maluku province to find out more in this latest part of a series on EVs in Asia.
In March 2026 alone, the police arrested eight Malaysians for similar cases.
Videos and photos from the scene showed thick gray smoke billowing from the complex and some workers jumping from a building.
“You know you don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side,” says US President Donald Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said that Kyiv wanted money and technology in return for its help in the Middle East, although this still had to be agreed.
The meeting appeared carefully choreographed to avoid open disagreements – apart from a brief awkward moment when Trump made a joke about Pearl Harbor.