German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to China on Thursday for what he described as a «sincere» meeting with the country’s authorities with a view to improving bilateral relations. «The pursuit of national security and national autonomy will be more important for China in the future. And as the country changes, the way we deal with it must change as well,» he said.
Thus, he has admitted that the war in Ukraine has changed international relations, but said that, «even in these circumstances, China remains an important trade and business partner for Germany and Europe. «We do not want to dissociate ourselves from it (…) but we cannot depend on it either», he asserted.
In this sense, he has stressed that Germany will seek to end «unilateral dependencies» in relation to certain products or technologies, which includes Chinese investments in Germany. «We will differentiate according to whether that business creates or increases risk dependencies», he explained in relation to the recent controversy raised as a result of the investment made by a Chinese shipping company in the port of Hamburg, in the north of the country.
The German government last week authorized a 24.9 percent stake of the Chinese shipping company Cosco in one of the terminals of the port of Hamburg, instead of the 35 percent initially planned.
«We will continue to insist on reciprocity (of business with China). And if China refuses to allow this reciprocity, there must be consequences,» he said, before assuring that he would not avoid addressing «difficult» issues with the Chinese government, such as the situation in Taiwan or the alleged violation of human rights in the Xinjiang region.
