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Friedrich Merz

Friedrich Merz
Friedrich Merz was elected German chancellor in May 2025, becoming the country’s 10th chancellor since World War II.
US President Donald Trump said his upcoming visit to China will be great. Photo: AP
2026 Trump-Xi summit

China trip will go ahead as planned – and it will be amazing, Trump insists

US president says the visit will go ahead as planned later this month despite the ongoing stalemate in peace talks with Iran.

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Germany

Trump-EU rift spurs Germany to boost military, add 75,000 soldiers

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United States

US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, fulfilling Trump threat

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Iran

Iran ‘dying to make a deal’, US war costs soar: here’s what happened overnight

US President Donald Trump says only a few people know the status of talks with Tehran as war enters its third month.

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US President Donald Trump takes questions at a press conference in the Oval Office. Photo: EPA
US, Israel war on Iran

Trump, Putin talk Iran and Ukraine, US energy exports up: what happened overnight

The two conflicts could end on a ‘similar timetable’ US President Donald Trump has said.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Trump may cut US troops in Germany after ‘humiliating’ Iran comment

The German chancellor has drawn the US president’s ire with his remarks about Tehran besting Washington at the negotiating table.

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US, Israel war on Iran

‘Wartime’ in Iran and Trump’s extended blockade: here’s what happened overnight

As the US president hit out at Germany’s chancellor, Iran said it did not consider the war to be over, while the UAE pulled out of Opec.

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Smoke rises from the site of a US-Israeli strike on Tehran on April 7. An Iranian army spokesman on Tuesday said Iran still regarded it as a wartime situation. Photo: AFP
European Union

Germany’s Merz says no ‘immediate’ Ukraine EU membership

There is little appetite to fast track Kyiv to full membership in the EU – causing some to pitch possible interim benefits in the meantime.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Iran’s exiled crown prince splashed with red substance in Berlin

Reza Pahlavi targeted while leaving a press conference where he said diplomacy with Iran ‘has been given enough chance’.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Iran war: France and UK to lead ‘defensive’ force for Strait of Hormuz

Trump, meanwhile, says he received a Nato offer to help secure the key waterway but told the alliance to ‘STAY AWAY’.

A vessel is seen at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters
US, Israel war on Iran

Europe tests ‘third way’ on Hormuz without the US, Israel and Iran. Will it work?

Coalition of more than 30 nations to meet in Paris for a summit to find a ‘credible proposal’ to restore shipping through the strait.

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Some 34 per cent of the global oil trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz last year. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

Exclusive | EU to cut funding for Chinese inverters amid change of tack towards Beijing

Without fanfare, Brussels will stop funding for projects that use the Chinese-made devices as part of a ‘do more, say less’ strategy.

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China-EU relations

China sidelined: EU shelves rare debate as Middle East crisis takes priority

Delay risks entrenching a policy vacuum as member states diverge and Brussels struggles to evolve its approach.

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US, Israel war on Iran

‘Damage control’? Behind France, Germany’s bid to contain Iran war oil fallout

The European powers are leading calls for de-escalation but analyst notes ‘the age of soft power as a substitute for hard capacity is over’.

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Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, last month. Iran has effectively closed the waterway through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply is transported. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

Europe’s crisis tourism: how the Iran war swallowed the EU’s geopolitical agenda

From trade with China to the Middle East conflict and resulting energy shock, Brussels’ agenda has been repeatedly knocked off course.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China-EU relations

Merz floats EU-China deal, Trump’s new Beijing date, European lawmakers visit

This week: Germany’s Friedrich Merz envisages an eventual China-EU trade deal, new date set for Trump’s China trip and fuel prices surge amid war on Iran. Next week: European parliament sends first delegation to China in eight years, solar export subsidies end, Air China resumes North Korea flights, and more.

China-Germany relations

Germany’s Merz floats EU-China trade deal as European capitals soften on Beijing

Remarks urging ‘strategic partnerships around the world’ underscore how tensions with the US are inducing a more accommodating stance.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Trump calls Nato ‘cowards’ over lack of support in Iran war, sends more troops

Iran is threatening tourist sites worldwide, renewing fears that Tehran could resort to militant attacks beyond the Middle East.

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US President Donald Trump complained Nato countries did not ‌want to join the fight against Iran, yet still complain about high oil prices. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war

EU leaders clash with Hungary’s Orban for blocking Ukraine loan

A vital US$103 billion lifeline is being held up by Budapest over a dispute involving a war-damaged oil pipeline.

US, Israel war on Iran

Europe says no to Trump’s Iran demands: ‘not our war’

Some of the closest US allies say they don’t want to enter a conflict on which they were given no say ⁠and where they cannot see the endgame.

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China-EU relations

Exclusive | Chinese military set for EU and Nato talks as Iran war reshapes global security

The PLA delegation will travel to Brussels next week, where the Ukraine war remains a major barrier to better relations with Beijing.

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The PLA’s last talks with Nato and the EU took place two years ago. Photo: AFP
China-EU relations

Tariffs and distrust: EU’s bid to ditch China hits capacity problems

‘Thinly spread’ bloc seeks this week to thrash out memorandum on critical minerals with the US, eyeing a more formal instrument down the road.

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This week’s summit of EU leaders in Brussels is supposed to be about the bloc’s competitiveness, widely understood as a response to China’s state-backed industrial expansion. Photo: Reuters
China-EU relations

Get realpolitik? Von der Leyen questions Europe’s faith in rules-based order

The EU must become more realistic and interest-driven to keep up with the new world order, bloc chief says.

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China-EU relations

Weaponise EU market against China or face manufacturing collapse: official think tank

Beijing’s ‘weakness creates opportunities’ for bloc to use chokepoints and leverage for negotiations, researchers say.

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China-EU relations

From rivals to partners, China and Europe are retooling ties, adviser says

A succession of leaders have beaten a path to Beijing with pragmatic cooperation in mind, according to former ambassador Wu Ken.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (right) walks the Shanghai Bund with Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle in Shanghai in late January. Photo: dpa
China-Germany relations

Opinion | Merz’s China visit shows pragmatic diplomacy still matters

The German chancellor’s trip to Beijing suggests that Europe can de-risk from China while still pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits the Forbidden City in Beijing on February 26. Photo: AFP
Spain

Germany’s Merz lacked ‘solidarity’ amid silence during Trump attacks: Spain

The comments came after the US president said the Spanish government has been ‘terrible’ during the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Donald Trump

Video | Trump seeks to justify Iran war

The US President held a White House meeting where he seemed to walk back Marco Rubio’s comments that Israel triggered the war.

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