Germany wants to find areas of cooperation with China but relations cannot remain at "business as usual", a senior German government official said on Wednesday ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's trip to Beijing.
Berlin wants a level playing field on trade relations and is hoping that China can help persuade Russia to end the war in Ukraine, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Scholz expects to raise all difficult questions with China's Xi Jinping and does not see addressing human rights concerns as interference in China's domestic affairs, the official added.