German leader calls for equal trade ties in controversial China summit

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. In a much-scrutinized meeting Friday with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and warned against the conflict going nuclear. - AP

BEIJING, Nov 5, 2022 (AFP): German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Chinese leaders in Beijing on Friday evening (Nov 4) that Berlin expected equal treatment on trade as he tried to drum up greater economic cooperation despite growing distrust of the Asian superpower in the West.

Scholz is under pressure to push Beijing to get tough on Russia over the war in Ukraine, and he said Friday that Germany and China had agreed they both opposed any use of nuclear weapons in the conflict.