Finance Minister Christian Lindner is worried that Germany’s economy is becoming too reliant on China and called for closer trade ties with democratic countries to counteract this dependency.
(Bloomberg) — Finance Minister Christian Lindner is worried that Germany’s economy is becoming too reliant on China and called for closer trade ties with democratic countries to counteract this dependency.
“Dangerous development: German trade deficit with China more than doubled in 2022,” Lindner wrote on Twitter. “We should learn from the experience with Russia.” Germany “urgently” needs to rethink and focus on more free trade with “value partners,” he said.
The trade deficit with China grew to more than €84 billion ($89.7 billion) last year from about €39 billion in 2021.
The imports from China increased by a third in 2022 compared with the previous year while German companies exported only 3% more to China in the same period. By comparison, Germany’s exports to all other countries grew by an average of 14%, according to to Cologne-based Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft, also known as IW.
“This development is highly problematic,” said Jürgen Matthes, who heads global and regional markets at IW. “Our import dependence is a geopolitical risk. Because the German economy would be vulnerable to blackmail in the event of an armed conflict over Taiwan.”
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