In 2020, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called on Europe to forge its “own way” with China and distance itself from the “open confrontation” approach pursued by U.S. President Donald Trump. The goal of Borrell’s “Sinatra doctrine”, so named in reference to the song “My Way”, was for the EU to avoid becoming either “a Chinese colony or an American colony” amid a Cold War–like struggle between Washington and Beijing. Striking such a balance, Borrell argued, would allow Europe to retain the benefits of strong economic ties with China, which he and most other European policymakers at that time saw as far outweighing the risk of giving Beijing too much influence.… Seguir leyendo »
There is a long history of German military pilots helping the Chinese air force. In the 1930s, Nazi Germany dispatched military advisors to help build and train the air force of the Republic of China, which was simultaneously fighting communist insurgents under Mao Zedong and the invading Imperial Japanese Army. Chinese-German relations soured a few years later, when Berlin allied with Tokyo in the Tripartite Pact. By then, however, Chinese pilots had not only been trained by the formidable German air force—the Luftwaffe—but were also flying German-made bombers and fighter aircraft to attack the communists and Japanese.
German fighter pilots are helping train China’s air force once again.… Seguir leyendo »
Los ejecutivos de la industria automotriz de Alemania y de Estados Unidos que asistieron al Salón del Automóvil de Shanghái este año quizás esperaban dar la vuelta de la victoria luego de tres años de ausencia por culpa de la pandemia. Sin embargo, los fabricantes occidentales se encontraron con una dura realidad: decenas de nuevos vehículos eléctricos de fabricación china vienen por su participación de mercado.
En los últimos años, el ascenso de los VE ha impulsado la industria automotriz china a una prominencia global. Las exportaciones de autos de China ya superaron a las de Alemania en 2022, luego de un incremento del 54%, y se proyecta que el país supere a Japón para convertirse en el mayor exportador de autos del mundo este año.… Seguir leyendo »
“Political leaders should have the serenity to accept the things they cannot change, the courage to change the things they can change, and the wisdom to distinguish between the two”.
This is how Chinese President Xi Jinping set the terms of his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing earlier this month, invoking the late West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who was apparently a fan of American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s “Serenity Prayer”.
The quote serves a precise purpose. For Xi, Scholz’s visit to China—the first by a G-7 leader after Xi’s mandate was renewed at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October—presented an opportunity to reaffirm Beijing’s core interests.… Seguir leyendo »
... con séquito empresarial integrado por una docena de CEOs de las más grandes firmas alemanas. De broche, el encuentro con Xi Jinping.
Esta publicitada visita de horas contadas -"la primera por un líder del G7 desde que comenzó la pandemia"-, choca con las admoniciones de su "pareja" en la UE: París está contrariado por este viaje -el momento, el formato (por libre)-. El Canciller ignora asimismo el llamamiento de sus socios de coalición (en particular, la Ministra de Exteriores -verde-) por una estrategia china actualizada, al que se suma su opinión pública: los alemanes ven en China, ante todo, un competidor.… Seguir leyendo »
Rarely has a deal encountered such strong government opposition. Six German ministries came out last month against Chinese shipper Cosco’s planned acquisition of a stake in a Hamburg container terminal. But it went through anyway.
The man who ensured its safe passage through the German cabinet was Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He insisted on a compromise — Cosco would have to make do with a 25 per cent stake, rather than the 35 per cent that was initially proposed.
But the German foreign ministry remained opposed, even after Scholz pushed it through. State secretary Susanne Baumann wrote an angry letter to Scholz’s chief of staff, Wolfgang Schmidt, saying the transaction “disproportionately increases China’s strategic influence over German and European transport infrastructure and Germany’s dependence on China”.… Seguir leyendo »
In the aftermath of the Cold War, one of the apparent successes of globalization was the shared economic growth of China and Germany. Three decades later, relations between the two states have become increasingly tense. Both states are at odds over their roles in the Indo-Pacific, despite their close economic ties.
In this interview, Rafał Ulatowski discusses his recent article in International Affairs and assesses the causes of the current rift, Germany’s increased engagement with Indo-Pacific states, and the direction of the Germany-China relationship.
Why did Germany pursue a partnership with China in the aftermath of the Cold War?
German policy towards China in the aftermath of the Cold War was rooted in two developments.… Seguir leyendo »
Los Verdes y el Partido Democrático Libre, que tienen la llave para la formación de un futuro gobierno de coalición tripartito en Alemania, son partidarios de confrontar a China en relación con las violaciones a los derechos humanos en Xinjiang y la represión en Hong Kong. Pero no es probable que la asunción de Olaf Scholz, líder del Partido Socialdemócrata y candidato a suceder a la canciller saliente Angela Merkel, introduzca cambios en las políticas de Alemania favorables al régimen autoritario chino.
La razón es que la excesiva dependencia de Alemania de las exportaciones a China le impide adoptar una actitud más crítica de su terrible desempeño en materia de derechos humanos.… Seguir leyendo »
When it recently emerged that Germany was planning to deploy the Bayern frigate to the South China Sea, it was widely interpreted as a move towards taking a tougher stand against China’s territorial claims in Asia. Defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer framed the deployment as a demonstration of solidarity with allies and ‘like-minded’ partners in the region.
Despite Germany’s dependence on China as an export market and the close political relationship between Beijing and Berlin over the past decade, it seemed Germany was prepared to go beyond a rhetorical commitment to the international rule of law and take concrete steps to uphold it alongside France and the UK, both of which have carried out ‘presence operations’ in the Indo-Pacific recently.… Seguir leyendo »
As the trade impasse between the United States and China grinds on, the rest of the world is reduced to being anxious bystanders — and nowhere are leaders more anxious than here in Germany.
Over the last decade, Germany, the largest economy in Europe but still a middle power by global standards, has steadily adapted itself to the realities of Chinese economic dominance. We have welcomed Chinese investment, and encouraged our companies to play by Beijing’s rules to get access to its markets. At the same time, Germany has remained a stalwart member of the Western political and security alliance.
The geopolitical tumult of the last six months has led to a strategic awakening among Germany’s leaders of the risks involved in trying to play both sides.… Seguir leyendo »
Si hay dos países cuya política económica ha estado en el blanco de las críticas del presidente Trump, esos son Alemania y China. Mientras que los Estados Unidos son el país con mayor déficit por cuenta corriente del mundo, Alemania y China se encuentran en el extremo opuesto de la lista, lo cual irrita sobremanera a amplios sectores de la actual Administración estadounidense.
El principal asesor de Donald Trump sobre cuestiones comerciales, Peter Navarro, ha sugerido que el Gobierno chino sigue manipulando a la baja el valor del yuan. Asimismo, ha culpado al Gobierno alemán de “explotar” a Estados Unidos y a sus socios europeos a través de un euro infravalorado, unas palabras que asombran más si cabe por ir dirigidas a un país aliado.… Seguir leyendo »
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union used every imaginable threat and inducement — including the ultimate prize of reunification — to bring about a neutral Germany. But German leaders of both the left and the right, from Konrad Adenauer to Willy Brandt, spurned every Soviet offer. Will authoritarian mercantilism now succeed where communism failed?
Countries join alliances, or entities such as the European Union, because these groups make the benefits and obligations of membership as unambiguous as anything in international relations can be. For Germany and South Korea, however, relationships with historic allies — NATO and the United States, respectively — appear to be changing before our eyes.… Seguir leyendo »
A lo largo de la Guerra Fría, la Unión Soviética usó cada amenaza e incentivo imaginable (incluida la promesa de la reunificación final) para conseguir la neutralidad de Alemania. Pero los líderes alemanes, tanto de izquierda como de derecha, de Konrad Adenauer a Willy Brandt, rechazaron todas las ofertas soviéticas. ¿Será ahora que el mercantilismo autoritario triunfará donde el comunismo fracasó?
Los países se integran a alianzas, o a entidades como la Unión Europea, porque estas aclaran los beneficios y las obligaciones que eso implica tan inequívocamente como es posible en las relaciones internacionales. Pero las relaciones de Alemania y Corea del Sur con sus aliados históricos (la OTAN y Estados Unidos, respectivamente) son ahora sujeto de una aparente transformación.… Seguir leyendo »
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