Chinese foreign minister to visit Germany, France and Norway

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang plans to visit Germany, France and Norway during an official trip to Europe which is scheduled to last through Friday.

The visit to Berlin takes place in the run-up to German-Chinese government consultations planned for next month, to which the new Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang was invited to Berlin on June 20.

Political exchange between Beijing and Berlin has increased noticeably since the end of the pandemic. In mid-April, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock went to China on her first visit as minister and met Qin, who became China's foreign minister in December.

A clear shift in tone with the German-Chinese relationship became apparent at the time. Baerbock, a leading Green Party politician, described China as a rival and competitor but also a partner.

The consultations scheduled for June will involve discussions among a number of leading government officials from both sides.

The German government regularly organizes such talks with several close or strategically important partners, including France, Japan, India, Brazil and Israel.

The last German-Chinese intergovernmental consultations took place in 2021, which were overshadowed by political tensions. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, those meetings were held via video conference.