Germany’s Scholz arrives in China on a visit marked by trade tensions and Ukraine conflict

BEIJING (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in China on a visit focused on the increasingly tense economic relationship between the sides and differences over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Scholz arrived Sunday in the industrial hub of Chongqing, where he and his delegation of business leaders visited a partially German-funded company and toured the vast city that is a production base for China’s auto and other industries. Scholz is also scheduled to visit the financial hub of Shanghai during his three-day visit, before traveling to the capital Beijing to meet with head of state Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. German companies are highly reliant on the Chinese market, but Beijing’s support for Russia creates frictions with the West.