Germany's Scholz trip to China overshadowed by Iran attack on Israel

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz began a three-day visit to China on Sunday, overshadowed by Iran's unprecedented air attack on Israel.

Scholz learned of Tehran's massive drone and missile attack during his overnight flight to the Chinese metropolis of Chongqing, which is home to some 32 million inhabitants.

Upon landing, Scholz immediately condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms," in comments on his behalf by government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.

Later, Scholz said it was an "an absolutely unjustifiable attack, it is a serious escalation of the situation."

"All we can do is warn everyone, especially Iran, against continuing like this," he said, reiterating Germany's solidarity with Israel and the country's right to defend itself since the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 last year.

During the flight, Scholz was constantly updated about the escalation in the Middle East. The delegation was also in close contact with the German security authorities. No phone calls took place with allies from the aircraft, however.

A video conference with G7 leaders has been convened for the evening, to coordinate their response to the attack. An IT expert is accompanying the chancellor on his trip, to ensure communications from China are secure against interception.

The retaliatory strike had been expected for days, following a suspected Israeli-led airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus. Despite indications that it could occur this weekend, Scholz decided to go ahead with his trip to China.

The chancellor stuck largely to his original programme with a planned visit to a Bosch hydrogen drive production facility, accompanied by a high-profile business delegation.

A planned talk to students about urban planning remained on the agenda, as did a meeting of German and Chinese researchers on the subject of water quality and a meeting with regional Communist Party Secretary Yuan Jiajun.

Sightseeing was struck off the agenda, however, meaning Scholz did not take a planned boat trip on the Yangtze River or a city tour.

On Monday, Scholz's visit is expected to continue on to the economic and financial centre of Shanghai. On Tuesday he is due in Beijing for political talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

These two appointments alone - for which the Chinese leadership had cleared several hours - ruled out a cancellation of the trip.

The talks could even be helpful given the new escalation to the conflict in the Middle East, where China had kept a low profile until now.

On Sunday, however, Beijing expressed "deep concern." In a statement, the Foreign Ministry called on all sides to "exercise calm and restraint to prevent a further increase in tensions."

Scholz is also expected to discuss the conflict in Ukraine when he meets with Xi, who is considered one of the closest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, the trip is considered a key test of Germany's new "de-risking" strategy towards China, agreed by Scholz's coalition government last year.

The aim is to reduce economic dependencies on China, after Germany learned lessons from its energy reliance on Russia when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. China remains Germany's second-largest trading partner, however.

The German chancellor is accompanied by a dozen top managers. Among them are the chief executives of the car manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and BMW as well as the chemical company BASF.

In Beijing, Scholz is also expected to be accompanied by Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir, Transport Minister Volker Wissing and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke.

This is Scholz's second trip to China since taking office in December 2021. His inaugural visit in November 2022 was only a day trip due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This time, he is taking three days - more than ever before for a single country on one trip.

Beijing expects the visit to "inject new momentum" into the bilateral relationship, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, considered to be a Communist Party mouthpiece.