Steinmeier in Beijing: Great Responsibility for Great Power

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Steinmeier in Beijing: Great Responsibility for Great Power.

On Thursday, 29.10.2026, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivered a speech at Peking University that was less a programmatic appearance than a clear expression of expectations: China must live up to its growing role. The university had awarded Steinmeier an honorary professorship for the occasion. As he entered the hall, students welcomed Germany’s head of state with extended applause.

Speaking to students in Beijing, Steinmeier addressed the consequences of China’s rise directly. His central formula was: “Great power comes with great responsibility.” He made this concrete in three areas: trade with Germany and Europe, China’s influence on Russia’s war against Ukraine, and a rules-based international order.

Great power comes with great responsibility

Steinmeier Wants Trade on Equal Terms, Not Decoupling

The economic demand

Steinmeier called for reducing imbalances in relations between China on the one hand and Germany and Europe on the other. The starting point, he said, should be competition that, in his words, is good but can only take place on the basis of “fair and uniform rules.”

He thus drew a clear line for China’s trade policy. According to him, European companies receive no access, or only strictly controlled access, to the Chinese market, while state-subsidized Chinese exports flow into European markets in large quantities.

The reassurance is just as much part of the message

Steinmeier made it clear that Germany and Europe do not want to decouple from China. The aim is to shape trade so that it continues to bring benefits to both sides. His demand was therefore not for isolation, but for access that works equally well for Chinese and European companies.

China had already made concessions in Beijing on hybrid car exports. Steinmeier described this step as an encouraging sign and called for further concessions in other areas. The message about economic power was therefore not a blanket indictment, but a call for concrete steps.

China’s Independence Must Not Create New Dependence

Understanding China’s security concerns

Steinmeier acknowledged that China wants to protect its economy against external shocks and negative influences. His warning was therefore not directed against China’s pursuit of greater self-reliance, but against the mirror-image consequences for other countries.

“But greater Chinese independence must not, by the same token, mean growing dependence on China and greater vulnerability for other countries,” he said. By setting China’s security interests and the protection of its economy against Europe’s demands, the speech thus acknowledged both positions. Steinmeier’s response was not to turn away from trade, but to demand rules that apply on both sides.

China’s Rise Requires Influence on Russia

Expectations of a world power

Steinmeier paid tribute to China’s rapid economic, technological and political development and described the country as a “shaping world power.” Precisely because he did not assess this rise negatively, he attached clear expectations to it.

“We have no concerns about China rising. But we do pay attention to how China rises,” he explained. The sentence reveals the core of the speech: goodwill alone is not enough. China’s greater role in the world economy also changes expectations of its political conduct.

Russia and the war in Ukraine

This expectation was particularly clear in the case of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Steinmeier recalled that China is a permanent member of the Security Council and maintains close relations with Russia. He therefore called on Beijing to work toward Russia halting its attacks and entering into serious negotiations.

China’s own interests are also affected, he said: as a major economic and trading power, it depends on free sea lanes, intact supply chains and a secure energy supply. The longer the conflicts continue, the weaker the global economy as a whole will become – including China’s. Economic pressure was therefore part of his argument, not merely a side effect.

What Steinmeier’s Meeting With Xi Jinping Makes Concrete

Steinmeier will meet President Xi Jinping in China on Friday. By then, he will have set out an expectation that goes beyond any single trade issue: China should not only benefit from its rise economically, but also assume political responsibility.

The strongest counterweight in his speech was the reminder that China must protect itself against external shocks and itself depends on open sea lanes, stable supply chains and energy supplies. His response was balance within the relationship: fair trade, no decoupling, equal rules and influence on Russia.