At the time of the red-green coalition, Chancellor Schröder made it clear from the start who was the cook and who was the waiter.
In the red-green-yellow cabinet Scholz, on the other hand, it's not like a canteen kitchen, but more like a shared flat.
The Greens see themselves as equals and at least as competent in foreign policy as the SPD, which is burdened by a disastrous Russia policy.
The Greens do not want to repeat their mistakes in relation to China, which is why they rebelled against the chancellor in the port of Hamburg – unsuccessfully.
Now Foreign Minister Baerbock von Tashkent from Scholz instructed that the messages of the coalition agreement (respect for human rights and international law, fair competition, Taiwan) "also be made clear in China".
Xi Jinping is brimming with power and self-confidence
This is not an easy task for the Foreign Minister for the Chancellor.
He has to negotiate with a man who would probably even refuse to be classified as a chef in an offended manner: the Emperor of China is brimming with self-confidence and a sense of power.
Xi Jinping will not want to listen to lengthy lectures about the values of the West, which has made itself much more dependent on deals with China than on energy supplies from Russia.
The chancellor will hardly keep them either, because he wants more from Beijing than the usual billion-euro contracts: it should have a moderating effect on Putin.
China has no interest in an escalation of the war in Ukraine, which would be bad for its own economy.
But neither does it want to take a stand against Putin's dictatorship, which, unlike the EU and the USA, is not a system rival and, as a result of the war, has had to become more economically dependent on China.
It is questionable whether Scholz can persuade Xi to distance himself more from Putin.
But he has to try.
Even the Greens would find it difficult to wring concessions from Beijing that would help the Ukrainians
and
the Uyghurs.