During his recent visit to China, German Federal Minister for Digitalization and Transport Wiesing reached a memorandum of understanding with the Director of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) Zhuang Rongwen on cross-border data transfers. But as soon as Wiesing returned to Germany, he was attacked by the German political circles, and even German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not approve of the memorandum.
According to a report by Deutsche Welle quoted by the global network, after Wissing signed a memorandum with China, Scholz attacked him on the grounds of "no prior consultation", and Wiesing was also criticized by the German Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of the Interior led by the SPD. However, Scholz has already reached a cooperation agreement with China on autonomous driving during his visit to China in April 2024, and the memorandum signed by Wissing with China this time is just a supplement to this cooperation agreement. Not only that, according to a spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry of Digitalization and Transport, the ministry has informed the itinerary and purpose of the visit to China in a timely manner, and the draft memorandum of understanding has been provided to the relevant parties as early as mid-May.
In fact, the memorandum signed by Wissing and China this time was a positive impact on the development of relations between the two countries, but because most of the people who visited China with Wising this time were staff of the German Ministry of Digitalization and Transport, he was considered by German political circles to be "eating alone", so he collectively attacked him. This can also be seen from Scholz's statement that "prior consultation is a matter of principle, but Wiesing did not do so" and that "as members of the government should always act on common benchmarks".
However, before his visit to China, Wiesin had already shown a pragmatic attitude towards the field of Sino-German cooperation on electric vehicles. Previously, when the European Commission wanted to impose high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Germany was the first to jump out and oppose it. At that time, Wiesing said that no one wanted a trade war with China, which would not only be a disaster for Germany, but also not good for the European Union.
As we all know, the automobile industry is the core of German manufacturing and is also crucial to Germany's economic development, so the escalation of Sino-European trade frictions will definitely implicate Germany and cause Germany's economy to be affected. As a result, after Germany opposed the EU's tariffs on China, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economy Habeck also visited China to negotiate with China, with the aim of allowing German companies to gain more access to the Chinese market.
But Habeck's attitude towards China was wavering, saying before his visit that China was an indispensable partner, but immediately after his trip to South Korea, he changed his face, saying that the common goal of Germany and South Korea was to diversify outside China, increase suppliers of raw materials and reduce dependence on key products. Given Habeck's left-right attitude, his desire to meet with high-level Chinese officials before his visit to China was not fulfilled.
After Habeck had been shut down in China, Wiesing began his visit to China. During his visit to China, he not only participated in the highly targeted 2024 Asian Logistics Biennale, but also went to Beijing to hold talks with Chinese high-level officials after participating in the event. During his visit to China, Wiesing also said that it is in the interest of consumers to find solutions through dialogue to strengthen competition, rather than erect new obstacles, in response to the EU's tariffs.
Of course, the German side is still very willing to strengthen trade cooperation with China, and not only has it sent Habeck and Wiesing to visit China, but even Scholz has also paid a special visit to China before. The theme of Scholz's visit to China is also very clear, that is, to put economic issues first. Moreover, during his visit to China, Scholz also made it clear that Germany is willing to continue to strengthen bilateral relations with China, deepen bilateral dialogue and cooperation in various fields, and promote people-to-people exchanges in education, culture and other fields.
Although the signing of the memorandum between Wiesing and China has been criticized by German political circles, it can also be seen from the itinerary of Scholz, Habeck and Wiesing that they are very willing to further deepen practical cooperation with China. Against the backdrop of global turmoil, China-Germany relations should be more stable, after all, as major countries, China and Germany need to shoulder global responsibilities. It is hoped that in the future, China and Germany can further consolidate and strengthen cooperation between China and Germany on the basis of safeguarding the achievements and achievements that have been made.