German economy minister's China trip features low-key business delegation amid EV clash
BERLIN/FRANKFURT, June 18 (Reuters) -German renewables firm Enpal and metal processing group Schoder will be among the companies joining Economy Minister Robert Habeck's trip to China later this week, suggesting a low-profile delegation as Brussels and Beijing clash over EV tariffs.
Unlike Chancellor Olaf Scholz's trip to China in April, no German carmaker will accompany Habeck on the four-day trip to South Korea and China, where growing trade tensions between Europe's top economy and its second-biggest trading partner will take centre stage.
Both Enpal and Schoder said company representatives would participate in the trip, confirming a Handelsblatt report.
Automotive supplier Voss is also among the companies travelling with Habeck, as is laboratory gear maker Sartorius SATG.DE, according to people familiar with the matter, making it the only German blue chip joining the delegation.
Voss did not respond to a request for comment.
Sartorius had no immediate comment.
Habeck's trip comes a week after the European Commission proposed tariffs on electric vehicles imports from China, marking a new low point in economic relations and raising fears of economic retaliation.
Potential counter-tariffs would be particularly painful for Germany's carmakers - Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE, Porsche P911_p.DE, Mercedes-Benz MBGn.DE and BMW BMWG.DE - which heavily rely on China, the world's biggest auto market.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, BASF BASFn.DE, Bayer BAYGn.DE and Merck MRCG.DE were among the large cap firms which travelled with Scholz during his trip to Beijing earlier this year.
Reporting by Rene Wagner, Christoph Steitz, Maria Martinez and Patricia Weiss
Editing by Miranda Murray and Kim Coghill
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