Biden, Scholz to ‘get into the weeds’ on Ukraine war in talks amid concerns over China
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US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a 2022 G-7 summit in Germany. They are again meeting on Friday in Washington.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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WASHINGTON – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold confidential talks on Friday in Washington with United States President Joe Biden about the war in Ukraine, amid growing concerns that China may provide weapons to Russia
Mr Biden and Mr Scholz will meet for an hour at the White House, including a significant “one-on-one component”, a senior US official said, giving the two men a chance to “exchange notes” on their respective recent meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Both of the leaders wanted this to be a working-level meeting, wanted it to be very much a ‘get down into the weeds’, focused on the issues of Ukraine,” the official said.
A major topic will be the push to deliver fresh Western support to Ukrainian forces bracing themselves for new Russian offensives.
Washington is due to announce a new US$400 million (S$539 million) military aid package for Mr Zelensky’s government on the day of Mr Scholz’s visit.
Mr Scholz’s first trip to Washington since just before the invasion comes days after Mr Biden’s security adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC that Mr Biden overrode his military’s advice and agreed to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine because Mr Scholz made it a precondition for sending German Leopards.
Berlin said Mr Biden came to see it was necessary and that the decision was consensual.
Mr Scholz arrives as the US is sounding out close allies about the possibility of imposing sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to four US officials and other sources.
Neither Washington nor Berlin has seen evidence of Beijing providing weapons
Germany, which has typically taken a much less hawkish stance on China, its top trading partner, than the US, has suggested China could play a role in bringing about peace – a prospect that many China observers view with scepticism.
A second senior US official downplayed suggestions of big strains between Washington and Berlin.
“The relationship is in a rock-solid place,” he said. “(Friday’s) meeting will largely focus on what we are doing together next to support Ukraine, a sign of the good footing the relationship continues to be on.”
US officials welcomed Mr Scholz’s speech to Parliament on Thursday, in which he urged China not to provide arms to Moscow and asked Beijing to pressure Russia to pull back its forces.
“US policymakers have a chronic concern that industrial European powerhouses like Germany will allow their commercial interests in China to temper their willingness to take tough positions on security and geopolitical issues,” said Mr Daniel Russel, who served as the top US diplomat for East Asia under former president Barack Obama and is now with the Asia Society.
“The Biden administration will use the Scholz visit to try to shift Germany’s balance in the direction of stronger pushback,” he said.
‘Opportunity to take stock’
The White House said in February that Mr Scholz’s visit was an opportunity to “reaffirm the deep bonds of friendship between the US and our Nato ally Germany”.
In February, a vast delegation of US officials, including Vice-President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, attended an annual security gathering in Munich, with many praising Germany for its support of Ukraine, which required an overhaul of its approach to defence and foreign policy.
Friday’s meeting “is not a sign of crisis; it is an opportunity to deepen the personal relationship between both leaders”, said Ms Sudha David-Wilp, head of the Berlin bureau of the German Marshall Fund think-tank.
“Washington is still looking to Berlin as the lead military power in Europe. It is an opportunity to take stock,” she said.
US officials say Mr Scholz would likely raise concerns about an ongoing irritant in transatlantic ties: US subsidies for green technologies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Germany argues could put its companies at a disadvantage.
Critics say the IRA was a slap in the face to Europe from its biggest ally at a time when Europe is already struggling with sharply higher energy prices due to the Ukraine war.
A US-European Union task force is meeting on the issue, but Washington has said it cannot change the law, and insists the tax credits will benefit European firms by driving down costs for clean energy globally.
“The government should expressly push for fair competitive conditions in the talks,” said Mr Peter Adrian, president of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
The IRA is already attracting German companies to the US, a DIHK survey showed on Wednesday. REUTERS
