German minister opposes economic decoupling from China, but warns against over-reliance
Handelsblatt / 威力彩玩法
Economy minister Robert Habeck has over-reliance on China and called for the broadening of supply chains while reassessing 鈥渢he opportunities and risks of our trade relations with China and reducing one-sided dependencies in key areas of our economy as quickly as possible.鈥 Speaking at the AHK World Conference, organised by the worldwide network of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad, Habeck said that Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine is a daily reminder that Germany should avoid unilateral dependencies. 鈥淲e need to broaden our supply chains and diversify our trade even further,鈥 he said. However, "economic decoupling from China is not in our interest," said Habeck. The Green Party minister also warned against the outflow of sensitive knowledge to China and said Germany should follow the U.S.鈥 lead by introducing greater surveillance over the Chinese businesses of German companies, . He called for stronger state controls on certain foreign investments, noting that the U.S. government is already working on its own 鈥榦utbound investment screening鈥. "I think we should do that," Habeck said, noting that no such control existed in the EU. Habeck stressed that the goal of climate neutrality was 鈥渁lso a prerequisite for our future competitiveness and sustainable jobs.鈥
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang expressed concern about European calls for 鈥榙e-risking鈥. 鈥淚f the EU seeks to decouple from China in the name of 鈥榙e-risking鈥, it will decouple from opportunities, cooperation, stability and development. China, Germany and the EU should all abide by international trade rules and the spirit of contract, keep opening up to each other and refrain from politicising normal economic, trade and investment cooperation and interfering with the market.鈥