Germans have emerged as some of Europe’s most hawkish voters on China, more likely to consider Beijing as a rival or an adversary than in any other major EU country, a new survey has shown.

Published amid a bout of soul-searching in Berlin over whether to back a tougher approach towards China on trade, the findings suggest that the country’s citizens might not be opposed to such a shift.

A combined 49 per cent of German people polled considered China to be primarily a rival or an adversary, way ahead of the second of the 13 countries polled, which was 43 per cent in France – a long-time supporter of a more interventionist EU trade policy.

Just 38 per cent of Germans see China in positive terms, either as a partner or ally. By contrast, 65 per cent of Spaniards and 62 per cent of Bulgarians view Beijing in such glowing terms.

Germany is by far China’s biggest trade and investment partner in Europe. For decades, a symbiosis between the two economies helped deliver mutual industrial success. But the European power is enduring a broad-based manufacturing slowdown, with economists suggesting that China’s industrial rise is a major contributing factor.
Economists say China’s industrial rise is contributing to Germany’s manufacturing slowdown. Photo: Reuters

Economists say China’s industrial rise is contributing to Germany’s manufacturing slowdown. Photo: Reuters

“The China shock has hit Germany particularly hard: its manufacturing sector lost around 420,000 jobs between 2019 and 2025 and it continues to shed 10,000 jobs each month,” read the report by the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.