German minister to visit Taiwan next week - spokesperson

Germany's education minister will visit Taiwan next week, a spokesperson for the minister said on Friday. The planned trip by Bettina Stark-Watzinger, starting early next week, comes as Germany reassesses its ties with China, hitherto a vital export market for German goods.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has been ramping up military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims.