The Prime Minister of China emphasized on Tuesday, the importance of enhanced collaboration with Germany to strengthen the global economy. Germany aims to decrease its dependency on China, despite being a significant exporter in Europe.
China’s premier on Tuesday urged closer cooperation with Germany to shore up a struggling global economy, at a time when the European export powerhouse is seeking to reduce its reliance on the Asian giant.
Li Qiang, on his first trip abroad since he was named China’s prime minister, also underlined the emphasis Beijing places on improving relations with the European Union as criticisms from the bloc grow louder.
Burned by its reliance on Russian gas and hurt by supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, Germany and the European Union overall have been intensifying efforts to “de-risk” from China.
Addressing the press after talks, Scholz also underlined Berlin’s move to diversify its trading partners, saying that Germany is “committed to actively broadening our economic relations with Asia and beyond”.
Export giant Germany, by virtue of its economic might, has always enjoyed special ties with China.
Under former chancellor Angela Merkel, Berlin took a pragmatic approach of talking up economic opportunities while keeping less flattering opinions on rights and freedom behind closed doors.
That made China a key market for Germany’s exporters while also allowing Berlin to take in prominent human rights activists like Liu Xia, apparently without suffering any retaliatory consequences.
But the coronavirus pandemic raised doubts about the wisdom of relying on a far-flung partner with its own huge domestic needs for essentials from medication to surgical gowns to masks.
Russia’s war on Ukraine turned the approach of economic rapprochement on its head, and also put the spotlight on self-ruled and democratic Taiwan, which China views as its territory and has vowed to retake one day, by force if necessary.
The blueprint also accused China of acting against German interests, putting international security “under increasing pressure” and disregarding human rights.
The latest report published Tuesday by Germany’s intelligence agency also cited China as the “biggest threat in relation to economic and scientific espionage and foreign direct investments in Germany”.
But German industry finds Berlin’s pivot easier said than done.
After all, China remains Germany’s biggest trading partner.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
