Münster, Germany, November 4 (Reuters) – G7 countries are increasingly recognizing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ultimate ambitions after the Communist Party Congress in Beijing and the need for a coordinated response, a senior official said on Friday. of the US State Department.

The talks between senior diplomats from the wealthiest Group of Seven democracies coincided with a one-day visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Beijing, the first by a G7 leader since the Chinese president cemented his grip on power at the congress of the ruling party.

Critics said Scholz’s trip fueled concerns that Germany would continue to prioritize economic relations with Beijing over security and strategic considerations, risking division among Western allies who have sought to take a more stance. firm towards an increasingly assertive China in recent years.

China has been Germany’s biggest trading partner for six years, with volumes reaching more than 245 billion euros ($238.9 billion) in 2021.

“What we’ve seen over the past 18 or so months is a growing convergence of views on what China’s ultimate strategy is, both domestically but also globally,” the official said. State Department official to reporters.

He was speaking on condition of anonymity on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in the western German city of Münster.

“I think coming out of the party congress, I think there’s a growing recognition of President Xi’s ambitions and the need for a coordinated response to that.”

Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he recognized China’s growing assertiveness but warned it should not be put in the same category as China. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February.

“It’s clear that China … is becoming much more assertive, much more empowered,” Borrell told reporters.

“But at the moment, many member states have a strong economic relationship with China, and I don’t think we can put China and Russia on the same level.”

Scholz’s visit to Beijing was meant to test the waters between China and the West after years of rising tensions, analysts said, with talks spanning Russia’s war on Ukraine, climate change and the reciprocal market access.

The US State Department official said the partners agreed on the need for the G7 to strengthen the coordination of the different Chinese strategies that the different countries had developed.

“It’s something that I think will be front and center for this group as we move towards Japan’s presidency next year,” he noted, referring to Japan’s resumption of the rotating G7 presidency to Germany early next year.

Sino-Japanese relations have long been plagued by a dispute over a group of tiny uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, a legacy of Japanese World War II aggression and regional rivalry.

Bilateral relations were further strained after China fired ballistic missiles into waters near Japan in a military exercise launched following a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , in Taiwan in August.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

On Friday, Japanese newspaper Sankei reported that the Japanese and Chinese governments had begun planning a meeting between Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for mid-November.

Reporting by Sabine Siebold; additional reporting by Sarah Marsh; edited by Philippa Fletcher

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