Li on first official EU trip

Warm welcome: Scholz receiving Li outside the Chancellery ahead of closed-door talks in Berlin, Germany. — Reuters

BERLIN: Chinese Premier Li Qiang has started a visit to Germany and France that comes as Europe seeks to balance concerns over economic dependence on China and about its stance toward Ukraine and Taiwan with a desire to engage Beijing on issues such as climate change.

Li, on his first trip abroad since taking office, was received by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday.