Germany has equipped itself with a strategy of relations with China, a country that it defines once again as a “partner, competitor and systemic rival”, which has increased its regional and global assertiveness, and which therefore must be faced in new ways, but without break economic ties. In search of that squaring of the circle, the government of social democrats, greens and liberals of Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday presented the first strategic document on the Asian giant, seen as a dangerous interlocutor with whom it is inevitable to cooperate.
“Our objective is not to disassociate ourselves; but we want to reduce critical dependencies in the future,” Social Democrat Scholz tweeted about this 64-page document that “reacts to a China that has changed and is more offensive.” Berlin detects that China is increasingly pursuing political objectives through economic means, creating dependencies and granting or withdrawing economic advantages.
To tackle it, he advocates for more coordination in the EU and more cooperation in the G-7 on export control of technological goods, due to the proven risk of cyber espionage. It also points to the possible need in Germany for measures to counteract Chinese investment in its territory.
In terms of security, Berlin is concerned about the Chinese refusal to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Regarding Taiwan, he recalls that eventual changes in the area would only be acceptable if they occur by mutual consent and peacefully.
“We are realistic, but not naive,” said the Foreign Minister, the green Annalena Baerbock, when presenting this strategy with a balanced tone, which alternates warnings with calls for cooperation.
Berlin shows concern “over the efforts made by China to influence the international order in the interest of its one-party system and thus relativize the foundations of the rule-based order, such as the status of human rights,” reads the document, which accuses Beijing of “deliberately putting its economic power at the service of its political objectives.” As a counterbalance, he reasons that “the systemic rivalry with China does not mean that we cannot cooperate (…); China is an indispensable partner in the face of global challenges such as the climate crisis or pandemics.”
The economic question hangs over a text that tries to warn German companies against excessive dependence on China. Big industry, from Volkswagen and BMW automobiles to BASF chemicals or Siemens electronics, cannot escape this gigantic market of more than 1.4 billion inhabitants, where they continue to invest en masse. With almost 300 billion euros in imports and exports, it is a key market for major German companies, and Germany’s largest trading partner since 2016. There are therefore concerns about the possible impact of a geopolitical restraint strategy.
The text, approved yesterday by the Council of Ministers, develops the Chinese issue outlined in mid-June in the first national security strategy designed by Germany since the war. In it, the Executive stressed that Beijing is acting more and more “against our values ??and interests”, which irritated China and forced Scholz to strike a balance when, barely a week later, he received Chinese Prime Minister Li in Berlin. Qiang. Establishing a “comprehensive China strategy” was listed in the three-party coalition pact in December 2021.
