China has overtaken the US as Germany’s top trading partner, figures show, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz prepares for his first visit to Beijing since taking office.
Merz will travel to China on Tuesday and will be greeted with military honors by Prime Minister Li Keqiang in Beijing on Wednesday before meeting President Xi Jinping for talks over dinner, his spokesman Sebastian Hille said.
Germany’s Federal Statistical Office released figures on Friday showing that China is back on top as the country’s most important market with €251bn (£219bn) in trade in 2025, up 2.2% on 2024 when the US is the country’s leading export destination.
Germany will import goods from China worth around €170.6bn in 2025, more than double the value of Germany’s exports to China at €81.3bn.
Trade with the US is worth €240bn, with Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs partly a likely factor in the 5% drop in trade.
The two-day trip to China will also see Merz visit the Forbidden City, Chinese firm Unitary Robotics, German car company Mercedes-Benz and turbine maker Siemens Energy, Hill said. He will also visit the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.
Merz is expected to raise a number of issues during his visit to Ukraine, including the war in Ukraine, human rights and trade.
The EU is struggling to limit China’s high-temperature manufacturing with tariffs on EVs imported to the EU, introduced in 2024, with little impact on sales and threatened tariffs on steel later this year through steel safeguards.
Germany’s relationship with China on trade is complex, with car companies having a significant manufacturing presence in the country. Volkswagen calls it a “second home market” and BMW and Mercedes-Benz also rely heavily on sales in the country for their financial success.
BMW chief executive, Oliver Gypse, is one of 30 business representatives accompanying the Merz on the trip. “Complex global challenges can only be solved by working together,” Gypsy told Reuters. “With the visit to China, the chancellor is sending a strong signal for dialogue and cooperation.”
The EU wants to scoff at and has introduced several initiatives to wean off China, which supplies rare earths, processed rare earths, critical minerals and refined critical minerals including lithium needed for EV batteries and permanent magnets used in everything from cars and fridges to military jets.
Germany’s need to support the car industry, one of the country’s largest employers, has made Chinese imports less black-and-white barriers.
It voted against an EU decision to introduce tariffs on Chinese EVs in 2024 and avoided EU tariffs on imports of the Chinese-made Volkswagen Cupra Tavascan SUV in exchange for action on the vehicle’s minimum price this month.
