Germany's Foreign Minister, Wadefur, had planned to fly to China on the 26th, and the result was that the 24th suddenly announced a delay.The official statement that China agreed to only one meeting and could not arrange more high-level dialogue, which sounds embarrassing.

Wadfur himself later came out to round things up, saying that this was not a cancellation, but a suspension. He also wanted to call the Chinese side as soon as possible and reset the date. But anyone with a discerning eye can see that the water behind this is quite deep, involving those old issues in Sino-German relations, especially rare earth exports and some sensitive topics.

Wadefur's visit to China had brought a large group of representatives of enterprises, mainly those of the Automobile Industry Association, as well as rare-earth importers. Germany's manufacturing industry can not be separated from China's rare-earth, which accounts for more than 70 percent of their imports, used in electric vehicle batteries and high-end equipment.

In the eight months before 2025, the trade volume of China and Germany has risen to €16.34 billion, and China is the seat of Germany's largest trading partner. Volkswagen, BMW, these giants, every four cars sold have one to go to the Chinese market. If the visit to China is discussed, it may be possible to loosen the rare-earth control and help the German economy to breathe, after all, their economy has not grown for three years, the first half of the GDP has only increased by 0.2%.

Covadfur said a few words before his visit, which left the matter yellow. On October 14, during the parliamentary debate, he named China's behavior in the South China Sea is not in accordance with international law, and also mentioned Beijing's support for Russia in Ukraine.

Then on the 20th, Vadfur was interviewed, and again said that Germany adhered to the one-China principle, but the details of implementation had to be said by itself. This sounds like leaving behind on the Taiwan issue, and China is naturally unhappy.

On the 22nd, Germany wanted to add more trade consultations through emergency coordination through the embassy, but the negotiation failed. On the 24th, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially notified the postponement.

The ruling coalition had already shaken, and now it has been completely torn apart.Wadfour is the People's Union, and Prime Minister Merts is also this party, and they insist on China's hardness and feel that they must uphold their values.

The coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party, jumped directly out of opposition, and Akhmetovich spoke straight in parliament, which postponed a bad signal that Germany needed pragmatic diplomacy, not to play with ideology. Inside the Social Democratic Party even someone wanted Vadoufour to review. The enterprise community was more pressing, and the collective withdrawal of those entrepreneurs who had originally planned to join the group, including Volkswagen and BMW executives.

They complained at the Chamber of Commerce meeting that political turmoil delayed business, potential contracts flew, and the supply chain had to be frightened.Data from the German Chamber of Commerce showed that investment in China has been slowing down, and people have begun to look for rare-earth reservoirs in Australia and Vietnam, but the cost is high and the short-term does not peak.

The media also followed suit. Le Monde said this indicates that Sino-German relations have entered a new stage of tension. The Süddeutsche Zeitung felt that if it had not been postponed, it might have been worse, but overall, this was a diplomatic mistake by the Merz government. The British "Financial Times" directly characterized it as a "super diplomatic disaster" because Germany was trying to rely on the China market to boost its economy, but instead asked for trouble.

Street protests emerged, the public opinion split into two parties, the stability of the alliance is at risk.Mertz came to power after he wanted to follow the United States in certain matters to pressure China, and not to lose the market benefits, this two-headed play, now pushing himself to the corner of the wall.

Speaking of Merkel, she repeatedly quipped before her departure in 2021 that it was wrong to completely disconnect from China, that it would hurt Germany and Europe, that it would be smart to deal with relations. She visited China 11 times at the time, pushed automotive and technological cooperation, and the supply of rare-earth steady, China-German trade from 60 billion euros in 2005 to more than 200 billion in 2020.

German companies made a fortune at that time, and the manufacturing industry was smooth sailing. Merkel saw through that Germany's prosperity cannot be separated from healthy interaction between China and Germany. But Mertz and the others didn't take up this job well. They always wanted to curry favor with both sides, and the result turned out to be like this. Her warnings now sound particularly accurate, and Germany is paying the price for this.

China's 27th Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Qian said in a press conference that Beijing wanted to cooperate equally and unilaterally pressured was useless. China's embassy in Germany stated that cooperation was based on mutual respect for core interests.

The business community is already pushing for diversification of the supply chain, other EU countries are also looking at, and the French Foreign Ministry said it hopes that China and Germany will talk as soon as possible to stabilize the overall European relationship with China.

The whole thing knocked the alarm clock to the western countries, the times changed, China is not a soft tomato. Want to cooperate is to be sincere, other than to save money and finger the foot. Germany now regret it is difficult, the rules set up, the restoration of the old relations have to work. Economic stagnation, the Murts government has to face the election pressure, trade friction is delayed, manufacturing competitiveness is weak. This delay not only interrupts the agenda, but also amplifies the friction of China and Germany.