The situation in the Middle East suddenly escalated, and the German Chancellor temporarily adjusted his itinerary in China

During this visit to China, the itinerary for visits to enterprises and universities was arranged first, and the political talks were put on the last day, in the hope of setting a friendly tone for the political talks.

Iran's allies Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels have also launched attacks against Israel, with the former firing rockets into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the latter launching drones into Israeli territory.

The sudden escalation of the situation in the Middle East has added fuel to the current uneven global political environment and cast a haze over Scholz's visit to China.

On Sunday morning, as soon as the German Chancellor's special plane landed in Chongqing, the accompanying Prime Minister's spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told the media: "Iran's irresponsible and unjustified attack risks triggering regional instability." He said , Germany firmly stands with Israel.

According to German government sources, Scholz received continuous reports on developments in the Middle East during the flight. An urgently convened crisis team met in Berlin on Sunday morning under the auspices of the German Foreign Ministry to discuss the situation.

Scholz's trip in Chongqing was also partially affected. Scholz was due to board a cruise ship on Sunday night for a night cruise on the Yangtze River after visiting Bosch's hydrogen drive production facilities and a joint Sino-German research project. But he canceled the tour, and the accompanying business representatives and reporters had to board the ship alone.

Bosch Hydrogen Power Systems (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. is the first stop of Scholz’s visit to Chongqing. The company is a joint venture between Bosch and Qingling Automobile and is committed to introducing Bosch hydrogen fuel cell solutions to the Chinese market. At the entrance of the visiting site, four cold chain logistics, sanitation and tractor vehicles were parked in sequence. These cars are all made in China and use hydrogen power modules produced by Bosch Hydrogen Power Systems (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. Scholz was introduced by the relevant person in charge of the company to learn about the latest results of cooperation between Bosch and Chinese companies.

The second item on Scholz's visit is a cooperative project between the Intelligent Biochemical Sensing and Precision Instruments Team of Chongqing University and the Kurt-Schwarber Institute of Measurement and Sensor Technology in Germany. Since 2019, the two parties have jointly carried out research and development of high-efficiency detection technology and equipment for water environmental pollutants in the field of ecological environmental protection.

Scholz canceled the Yangtze River tour, but still briefly walked through the streets of Chongqing, learning about Chongqing's urban development changes and historical context at famous Chongqing landmarks such as the Jiefang Monument and Kuixing Tower.

Scholz will arrive in Shanghai on Monday. He plans to hold discussions with teachers and students at Tongji University. He also plans to visit an innovation center run by German plastics maker Covestro.

On Tuesday, Scholz will travel to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. In addition to the demands of German companies in the Chinese market and economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, the topic of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, coupled with the sudden escalation of the situation in the Middle East, will become the focus of the talks.