Thread by @noahbarkin

The war in #Ukraine has triggered an intense debate in #Germany about its dependence on Russian energy, but also its far broader economic ties to #China. Here is a sample of what German political and industry leaders have said about this in the past week alone...

"Perhaps the time has come when we should give preference to doing business with those who are not only trading partners but also want to be value partners"
- Finance Minister @c_lindner in @DIEZEIT

"We need to reduce our dependencies on China quickly and significantly. China is threatening Taiwan militarily, and we should already be writing the price tag that the PRC and Chinese leaders will need to take note of"
- CDU leader @_FriedrichMerz on @DLF

"Unilateral dependencies are dangerous in this world of systemic competition, and we must overcome them where they exist today and avert them where they threaten in the future"
- @Der_BDI President Siegried Russwurm in @SZ

Should Germany reduce its dependence on China?
"I can only advise the German and European economy to do so, if only with a view to the supply chains ... Europe urgently needs to define a common external economic policy"
- SPD parliamentary leader Rolf Mützenich in @handelsblatt

"You can't compare China and Russia. We don't have an energy partnership with China. The country is an important market for many German industries ... Do we want to, can we afford to, do without this?"
- @BASF CEO Martin Brudermüller in @FAZ_Politik