Scholz, who will meet with both Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Xi, will press China to open up its markets, raise human rights concerns and discuss "autocratic" tendencies, a German government spokesperson said last week.
Now Scholz's government is drafting its first ever China strategy, on the basis of a coalition deal that struck a tougher stance on Beijing, mentioning sensitive issues such as Taiwan and Hong Kong and human rights violations in Xianjiang.
Scholz will be accompanied by a delegation of business leaders including the chief executives of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) , BASF (BASFn.DE), Siemens (SIEGn.DE), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE), Merck (MRCG.DE) and BioNTech , according to sources familiar with the matter.
No company deals were planned, a German government official said.