Scholz's Beijing Visit Raises Eyebrows

Scholz met Xi in Beijing for a one-day visit

German media are pointing out Chancellor Olaf Scholz "weird" 11-hour visit to Beijing. Aside from the extreme Covid-19 protocols, critics say the German Chancellor is going against the country's strategy with regards to its relationship with China, and this could threaten unity of the European Union.

But first navigating the pandemic in China.

Everyone who got onto the plane with Scholz had to take two PCR tests before arriving in the Chinese capital, and a third as soon as they landed. The "big whites" in hazmat suits did throat swab tests in an airport transporter on the tarmac.

People in hazmat suits tested German delegation

But Scholz did not take the Chinese test -- instead he insisted on using a German-made test with the Chinese watching him have the test done.

The trip was also one day to avoid Scholz staying in a hotel and either contracting the virus or spreading it (if he was positive).

And everyone on board the plane had to sign an agreement that if they contracted the virus in China, they could fly back to Germany to avoid being stuck in quarantine in Beijing.

After the one-day trip was over, the plane flew from Beijing to South Korea where the flight crew were changed before continuing back to Berlin.

One German reporter wryly notes while all the above mentioned stuff was weird, it all points to both countries not trusting each other -- like their respective coronavirus tests for starters.

China allowed to buy a stake in Hamburg port

Many are wondering why Scholz is cozying up to President Xi Jinping, whom many consider a dictator because of the serious human rights violations on the Uyghurs, Hongkongers, and his own people during the pandemic, and how he is threatening to take over Taiwan by force.

It is strange that Scholz pushed for a Chinese state shipping company Costco to buy a  24.9 percent stake in one of Hamburg's port terminals, going against his own foreign minister's advice. 

He also brought a delegation of business leaders to Beijing to do deals even though the country is trying to be less dependent on China. 

Maybe that was all for show, or part of the deal to allow his short visit to go ahead?

"The trip sends a message that even though Berlin should be seriously rethinking the relationship with China, they are going back to business as usual," said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an assistant professor at National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan, and a former political advisor to the European Parliament.

Germany giving mixed messages on this trip

"While I think Europe needs to find a way to constructively talk to China from a position of strength, what Berlin is doing undermines that position by pursuing its own interests at the expense of the emerging, yet fragile European unity that we've seen since the Ukraine war," she added.

Scholz's visit is seen as a big win for Beijing -- again making critics wonder why the chancellor was endorsing a dictator. Surely he knew what happened when Germany cozied up to Adolf Hitler? Or perhaps he forgot it didn't have a good ending?