The topic of Europe-China relations is back on the agenda
And it is Germany, whose ruling coalition has decided on its strategy towards the Middle Kingdom, that is bringing it back. Needless to say, Germany is still one of the EU’s leading states, and its view of China can be extrapolated to the entire EU as a whole.
In this case, however, it is just the opposite: Brussels has rather pressed Berlin by defining the main vectors of the German strategy towards Beijing.
There are 60 pages in the document, but the red thread running through it is the idea that relations between Germany and China have deteriorated – from the point of view of the document’s authors – because of Beijing’s fault. All the “sins” of China are on “one sheet”: there are autocratic (imperial) tendencies, human rights violations, violation of the principles of economic competition and aggressive foreign policy, which manifests itself, among other things, in threats to Taiwan and support for Russia “in pressuring its neighbours”.
The main point of the German strategy is economic. Germany intends to insulate its economy from dependence on China, and calls this policy de-risking. How? Mainly by blocking acquisitions in critical infrastructure and important technology sectors, and diversifying trade.
Does this remind you of anything? In our opinion, this is a kind of analogue of Russian import substitution, but in the German way.
The German strategy emphasises the responsibility of German companies to reduce dependence and stipulates that in the event of a crisis, for example, an invasion of Taiwan, these companies will not be able to rely on state assistance.
Whether or not this strategy will be implemented with regard to China is still an open question. But in any case, many German entrepreneurs are interested in “doing something with China”, primarily from the automotive industry. Which, for example, is quite dependent on Beijing in the supply chain of components for electric cars.
The example of Germany shows that the protectionist policy is becoming more and more popular and popular, but it does not make it successful. Declarations of protectionism in the economy are always more an element of political games and big bargaining. Especially now.
In any case, China will keep to its own: its opponents (partners, rivals) slept through everything.
Pskov Information Agency
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