Markus Söder has been touring abroad like never before since autumn. He is currently in China. What drives him, what leads him to the Chinese Prime Minister and the pandas of Chengdu? A search for clues.
In the end, the panda lady cannot save herself. Markus Söder grabs her with both hands and presses a kiss into her black and white fur. Fortunately – for everyone involved – the panda lady is made of plush; Söder was given it at the end of his visit to the panda breeding station in Chengdu, China.
After he was able to observe many animals there, but only from a distance, including the two former Berlin bears Pit and Paule, he almost can’t stop raving about them: “Very, very cute animals,” he says. “Just cute and cuddly.” Another plush panda cannot escape Söder’s kiss later in the day.
One can probably say it this clearly: With the cuddly photos and videos of Söder and the pandas, the Bavarian Prime Minister’s multi-day trip to China has already fulfilled its first essential purpose. Of course: The political highlight is the conversation planned for Wednesday with China’s number two, Prime Minister Li Qiang. And of course, for a Bavarian head of government in the Middle Kingdom it is always about tangible economic interests. He says he wants to “give them escort protection.”
But Söder wouldn’t be Söder if he didn’t attach importance when planning a trip to the fact that there are lots of beautiful photos and videos that generate lots of clicks on social media. Evil tongues claim that a beautiful look is always more important to Söder than the content.
Overall, given Söder’s current travel schedule, one can also ask another question: Is a would-be candidate for chancellor trying to make a name for himself in foreign policy? Especially since many in the CSU also admit that the domestic political bluster is not a “born foreign policy expert” and that he still has to learn something new. But more on that later.
Numerous trips abroad
In fact, this is Söder’s fifth trip abroad of the new legislative period, since autumn, including a half-day trip to Brussels and a one-day trip to Serbia. Shortly before Christmas he visited Israel and a few weeks ago he was in Sweden for three days, including a dog sled ride and an appointment with Queen Silvia. In contrast – which was carefully noted in Söder’s delegation – to CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who was in Stockholm before Söder.
However: In Söder’s eyes, the greatest success of the trip to Sweden was probably his karaoke performance in the ABBA Museum – because this short video was immediately a hit on social media.
Söder’s current travel schedule is striking simply because he has only traveled a little in recent years, first because of Corona, then because of the initial Union confusion over the K question, then because of the Bavarian state elections. Every Bavarian beer tent was more important to Söder than an appointment with a foreign head of government.
Bavaria’s most important trading partner
But now it seems different. That’s why Söder is now in China for several days. Prime Minister Li Qiang, whom Söder received in Munich last year, invited him. Söder followed this call, also because he knows the importance of China for the Bavarian economy: The country is Bavaria’s largest and most important trading partner worldwide. Numerous companies and corporations are active in the Middle Kingdom – including BMW, Siemens and others. That is why the Free State also maintains close political contacts with China and now has three partner provinces there, including Sichuan. A visit by CSU leader Franz Josef Strauss to the “Great Chairman” Mao Tsetung in 1975 is also still legendary. Strauss opened the gate to China – he wants to continue that, says Söder.
In Sichuan, Söder is pleased that he is received like a head of government of a state: police escort, partly cleared streets, a joint appointment with the governor and the party secretary of the Communist Party of Sichuan. “It seems to be a sign of appreciation,” says Söder. “You can tell that Bavaria has a good sound here.”
China and human rights
Critics accuse Söder, like his predecessors, of being too uncritical when it comes to foreign policy contacts. And the historian Frank Bösch also told the Munich “Abendzeitung”: “It is also true that the CSU does not give human rights such high priority and also cooperates closely with socialist dictatorships such as China.”
Söder, on the other hand, says: “In all of these conversations, the difficult topics are always addressed.” But he does real politics instead of moral politics: it’s about being in conversation and perhaps achieving changes in small steps.
Which ultimately leads to the question of whether Söder might have more to do with China than just the prime minister and pandas? Such trips are not unusual: “It is a long tradition that Bavarian Prime Ministers also maintain contacts abroad, are present abroad and show their colors. And with their own Bavarian claim, independent of federal politics,” says ex-CSU boss Erwin Huber.
“I don’t see that Söder wanted to make his possible ambitions as a candidate for chancellor clear with the trip,” says Huber, but adds: “But foreign policy experience is always good for a CSU chairman – and Markus Söder learns quickly.”
The political scientist Ursula Münch, on the other hand, says that the trip can of course also be read with the subtitle: “A prime minister not only follows in the footsteps of his great role model, but also sends signals into the debate about the candidacy for chancellor.”
A special fortune cookie
Was Söder’s first official act in China perhaps an omen? During a stopover at Beijing airport on Sunday, he opened a fortune cookie, pulled out the piece of paper and read: “The will shapes people, but to be successful they need courage and perseverance.”
X-Post The K question somehow accompanies Söder to Beijing and to the pandas in Chengdu. Of course they don’t care. For them, it’s not Söder that counts, only the next bamboo.