Germany changes its new trade policy to reduce China's dependence - China's Foreign Ministry criticises

Berlin – Germany has announced a change in its trade policy with China. It said that China is openly violating human rights and trying to make an impact on the rules-based international order. Moreover, Germany says it was closely watching these aggressive activities of China. Germany also said it had no intention of withdrawing from cooperation with China; however, it needs to reduce its dependence on China.

Nevertheless, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said that this policy of Germany was not acceptable to them. The official mouthpiece of China has also warned that this will harm German companies and the economy.

Furthermore, German intelligence agencies have warned Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government about the threat from China for the past few weeks. It had warned that China, which became Germany’s trading partner, would be dangerous for Germany’s interests due to its aggressive policy. Additionally, Germany had said that China threatened human rights and international security in its national security strategy released last month. The German intelligence agency also stated in its report about the increasing threat of China in economic, foreign investment and other areas.

Besides, Germany’s top companies have expressed concern over the report released before Chancellor Scholz visited China. German companies like

Volkswagen, and Siemens, which have invested heavily in China, also sought to reduce China’s economic dependence. The German government has also mentioned it in the trade policy announced on Thursday.

Europe has begun to reduce its dependence on China, and so has Germany. The German government claimed that this would also reduce trade and economic risks in the future. While doing this, Germany clarified that it would not completely withdraw from Chinese trade cooperation. In 2022, the trade between Germany and China was worth $336 billion.

The Foreign Ministry of China criticised this policy of Germany. Moreover, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin slammed Germany, which has adopted a defensive policy on the economic front, saying that it is unnecessarily straining relations. At the same time, the official Chinese mouthpiece has warned that German companies and the economy will suffer due to reduced dependence on China.