Merkel's China challenge - distance but engagement

With the US and China locked in a destructive spiral of muscle-flexing over trade and technology, German chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China, which starts Thursday (5 September), will be a litmus test for whether the European Union stands any hope of tackling the West's differences with China in a more goals-oriented way.

Any sign during Merkel's two-day trip that Beijing can be better persuaded than bullied into dealing with its lack of economic reciprocity and discrimination of...