German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (center) comments on his test ride experience on a Mercedes-Benz S-Class car with Urban and Highway Navigation System, jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and Chinese tech company Momenta in Beijing, during Merz's official visit to China, on February 26, 2026. Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits the Palace Museum in Beijing on February 26, 2026. Photo: VCG

On the second day of his China trip, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz paid a visit to the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing on Thursday, accompanied by a German delegation as he walked among the red-tiled roofs and gray brick walls. He also made a test ride in a new Mercedes-Benz S-Class car on Thursday, experiencing the L2 Urban and Highway Navigation System in person, the Global Times learned on site.  

German media Die Welt reported that, continuing his visit to China with a tour of the Forbidden City in Beijing, which served as the imperial palace for more than 500 years, Merz, in his guestbook entry, wished Germany and China "speed, strength, and energy" for "a year of cooperation and growth."

Merz supplemented his message with a quotation from Friedrich Schiller's poem Sayings of Confucius: "Threefold is the march of time, while the future slow advances, like a dart the present glances, silent stands the past sublime."

Merz Arrived Wednesday in the Chinese capital, and this is his first official visit to China since taking office. He is also the first foreign leader China has received in the Year of the Horse. The visit was described by some German media outlets as probably Merz's most important visit of the year.

"This is amazing," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz commented on the cooperation between German car manufacturers and Chinese technology, after he experienced a new-generation Mecedes-Benz S-Class, trying out the urban- and highway-pilot-assist driving system jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and the Chinese tech company Momenta, companies told the Global Times. 

The Global Times observed on the spot that Merz sat in the passenger seat, accompanied by Ola Källenius, chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. 

They experienced the intelligent assist driving system while circling the Hilton hotel near the Beijing Capital International Airport, according to a staffer.

Merz then listened to the introduction of cooperation of autonomous driving by Källenius and Cao Xudong, CEO of Momenta. Merz highly commended the collaboration between the German and Chinese companies in the era of intelligent vehicles. 

Also on Thursday, Mercedes-Benz and Momenta signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Beijing to further elevate their collaboration in the field of future mobility. 

Merz also marked his China visit on social media. He wrote in an Instagram post that "We want to further develop German-Chinese cooperation wherever possible, in close coordination with our European partners. And we are strengthening trade relations between Germany and China."

The chancellor said that trade between two of the world's three largest economies carries great weight and contributes to the prosperity of both sides.