– **Trade relationship ‘is almost a concentration risk,’ he adds**
– **German finance minister speaks out days before EU-China summit**
China doesn’t respect the principles that Germany stands for and is a “systemic rival” to Europe’s biggest economy, according to Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
“We have to recognize that we have an enormous risk,” the Free Democrat leader and junior partner in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition said in a speech on Tuesday. “China doesn’t respect our social model, our understanding of liberality, our recognition of international law.”
Lindner is voicing his concerns at a sensitive time. On Friday, European Union officials will hold a video summit with President Xi Jinping where they may reinforce U.S. warnings that China would face serious consequences if it tried to cushion the blow of sanctions against Russia.
The bloc’s officials suspect China may be ready to supply semiconductors and other technology hardware to Russia, according to two people with knowledge of the EU’s internal assessments. While Lindner didn’t refer to the meeting, he did put stress on what the country represents to Germany.
“Our trade relationship with China is almost a concentration risk for our economy,” he said. “It may be a trading partner, but it’s also systemic rival.”
Lindner’s comments aren’t the first by a German official concerned at China’s influence. The previous government — led by Angela Merkel — started adopting more protectionist measures after China’s Midea Group Co. swallowed robot maker Kuka AG in 2016.
Two years later, her cabinet blocked a Chinese bid for the first time by vetoing the potential purchase of machine-tool manufacturer Leifeld Metal Spinning AG.
Lindner did try to put his comments in context, emphasizing that rivalry with China doesn’t mean more than that.
“Please don’t misunderstand me,” he said. “Despite all the risks I see in China, I don’t compare them to Russia in the current situation.”
30 years later…
Yes, Russia is really just a rehearsal for the upcoming struggle against China… but I am more optimistic now, that we will manage it, somehow.
Then maybe you shouldn’t allow your corrupt businesses to have economic ties with China.
On a side note, at least from an outside perspective it appears that the greenlight coalition is going rather well so far. Any Germans here that can comment on this?
Hey, you can downvote this however you like but:
US, Germany, France, etc… all the “industrialized” nations will pay a big price in the upcoming decades for the 40+ years of “offshoring” of their production to China so they could sell more units in a bloody dictatorship.
I still remember what a late politician “let slip” in a TV debate show some years ago – “…Our EU German friends gave us billions in subsidies so we could drop our best industries, so they could sell more machines to China (shoes, clothes, etc…) and then China flooded our markets with cheap crap made with slave labor. After they took control of our markets, big money in Germany got even more, and the poor countries got even poorer…”
Remember, China is not a friend, is a competitor, and would like to take control of the world same as Russia. Businesses, Banks and Politicians won’t avoid it, and in the end it’s you that will pay taxes for the “assistance” to the victims. Until you are one.
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– **Trade relationship ‘is almost a concentration risk,’ he adds**
– **German finance minister speaks out days before EU-China summit**
China doesn’t respect the principles that Germany stands for and is a “systemic rival” to Europe’s biggest economy, according to Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
“We have to recognize that we have an enormous risk,” the Free Democrat leader and junior partner in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition said in a speech on Tuesday. “China doesn’t respect our social model, our understanding of liberality, our recognition of international law.”
Lindner is voicing his concerns at a sensitive time. On Friday, European Union officials will hold a video summit with President Xi Jinping where they may reinforce U.S. warnings that China would face serious consequences if it tried to cushion the blow of sanctions against Russia.
The bloc’s officials suspect China may be ready to supply semiconductors and other technology hardware to Russia, according to two people with knowledge of the EU’s internal assessments. While Lindner didn’t refer to the meeting, he did put stress on what the country represents to Germany.
“Our trade relationship with China is almost a concentration risk for our economy,” he said. “It may be a trading partner, but it’s also systemic rival.”
Lindner’s comments aren’t the first by a German official concerned at China’s influence. The previous government — led by Angela Merkel — started adopting more protectionist measures after China’s Midea Group Co. swallowed robot maker Kuka AG in 2016.
Two years later, her cabinet blocked a Chinese bid for the first time by vetoing the potential purchase of machine-tool manufacturer Leifeld Metal Spinning AG.
Lindner did try to put his comments in context, emphasizing that rivalry with China doesn’t mean more than that.
“Please don’t misunderstand me,” he said. “Despite all the risks I see in China, I don’t compare them to Russia in the current situation.”
30 years later…
Yes, Russia is really just a rehearsal for the upcoming struggle against China… but I am more optimistic now, that we will manage it, somehow.
Then maybe you shouldn’t allow your corrupt businesses to have economic ties with China.
On a side note, at least from an outside perspective it appears that the greenlight coalition is going rather well so far. Any Germans here that can comment on this?
Hey, you can downvote this however you like but:
US, Germany, France, etc… all the “industrialized” nations will pay a big price in the upcoming decades for the 40+ years of “offshoring” of their production to China so they could sell more units in a bloody dictatorship.
I still remember what a late politician “let slip” in a TV debate show some years ago – “…Our EU German friends gave us billions in subsidies so we could drop our best industries, so they could sell more machines to China (shoes, clothes, etc…) and then China flooded our markets with cheap crap made with slave labor. After they took control of our markets, big money in Germany got even more, and the poor countries got even poorer…”
Remember, China is not a friend, is a competitor, and would like to take control of the world same as Russia. Businesses, Banks and Politicians won’t avoid it, and in the end it’s you that will pay taxes for the “assistance” to the victims. Until you are one.