German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck is on Wednesday due to start a five-day working trip to South Korea and China, where he is to hold talks on trade, climate protection and energy policy, his office said on Friday.
Habeck is to make his first visit to China, where the consultations are expected to be intense, after the European Commission recently threatened to impose punitive tariffs against Chinese-built electric cars due to unfair subsidies.
China's close relations with Russia and its threatening stance towards Taiwan are also likely to be on his agenda.
"China is once again a very important sales and procurement market for German companies," said a spokesperson for the Economy Ministry.
Last year, the mutual trade volume totalled €254 billion ($271 billion), amounting to around 8% of Germany's total trade in goods.
The figure for South Korea is only €34 billion, although the country is reportedly Germany's second most important export market in Asia, with goods exports worth around €20 billion.
In both countries, Habeck plans to meet politicians and business representatives as well as members of German and European companies. He will be accompanied by business representatives and members of Parliament.
