BEIJING — There are many things that China and Germany do not see eye-to-eye on — notably Russia's war in Ukraine — but the leaders of the world's second and third largest economies nonetheless pledged Wednesday to work to deepen ties in an era of global turbulence.

China’s play for U.S. allies has a problem: As Germany’s leader showed, Europe’s grievances with Beijing may run deeper than its frustration with Trump. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, tried to sell Germany on a future less tied to the United States and anchored instead in Chinese markets and technology.

The German chancellor is trying to set a new tone with Beijing to parry pressure from the U.S. But years of deep economic ties make that difficult.

Germany is already harnessing AI for smarter production — with virtual factories, robot fleets and its newly launched Industrial AI Cloud. Can this edge overcome stagnation and let the country truly take on its rivals?

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s trip will test his ability to address tensions between the countries, at a time of strain between Europe and Washington.