Newly appointed Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul departed Berlin on 8 December for a four-day visit to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen—his first overseas trip since taking office in October. The timing underscores Berlin’s pivot toward what Chancellor Friedrich Merz calls a policy of “de-risking without decoupling.”
Talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will focus on China’s export restrictions on gallium, germanium and rare-earth magnets—inputs critical to German electric-vehicle and semiconductor plants. The delegation includes executives from BMW, Infineon and BASF who are seeking assurances that supply-chain licenses will be processed more predictably.
![German foreign minister begins first China visit, signalling closer scrutiny of trade dependencies and new travel protocols]()
From a global-mobility standpoint, the visit serves two purposes. First, Wadephul will press for reciprocal easing of business-travel visas. Since July, German executives have complained of week-long processing times at Chinese consulates, while China still grants visas with QR-code health declarations. Officials travelling with the minister indicated that pilot electronic multiple-entry visas for APEC-card holders could be announced. Second, both sides are expected to finalise a “trusted-traveller” lane at Beijing Capital Airport for German nationals enrolled in the EU’s coming Entry/Exit System—potentially cutting arrival formalities to under ten minutes.
Diplomacy aside, Wadephul carries a message from the Bundestag’s new Committee on Strategic Trade Dependencies: continued investment flows will depend on Beijing’s stance towards Russia’s war in Ukraine and on reducing cyber-espionage incidents targeting German subsidiaries. Multinationals should anticipate more rigorous export-control audits and may need to shift sensitive R&D work back to Germany or third countries.
Travel-security advisers note that Beijing has raised its COVID-19 alert to Level II amid a seasonal uptick in respiratory illnesses. The German Foreign Office has not issued a travel warning but recommends pre-departure PCR tests for high-frequency travellers—a reminder that post-pandemic health protocols remain a moving target for corporate mobility programmes.
Talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao will focus on China’s export restrictions on gallium, germanium and rare-earth magnets—inputs critical to German electric-vehicle and semiconductor plants. The delegation includes executives from BMW, Infineon and BASF who are seeking assurances that supply-chain licenses will be processed more predictably.
From a global-mobility standpoint, the visit serves two purposes. First, Wadephul will press for reciprocal easing of business-travel visas. Since July, German executives have complained of week-long processing times at Chinese consulates, while China still grants visas with QR-code health declarations. Officials travelling with the minister indicated that pilot electronic multiple-entry visas for APEC-card holders could be announced. Second, both sides are expected to finalise a “trusted-traveller” lane at Beijing Capital Airport for German nationals enrolled in the EU’s coming Entry/Exit System—potentially cutting arrival formalities to under ten minutes.
Diplomacy aside, Wadephul carries a message from the Bundestag’s new Committee on Strategic Trade Dependencies: continued investment flows will depend on Beijing’s stance towards Russia’s war in Ukraine and on reducing cyber-espionage incidents targeting German subsidiaries. Multinationals should anticipate more rigorous export-control audits and may need to shift sensitive R&D work back to Germany or third countries.
Travel-security advisers note that Beijing has raised its COVID-19 alert to Level II amid a seasonal uptick in respiratory illnesses. The German Foreign Office has not issued a travel warning but recommends pre-departure PCR tests for high-frequency travellers—a reminder that post-pandemic health protocols remain a moving target for corporate mobility programmes.
