Germany's economy minister said on Tuesday the government was working on a new trade policy with China to reduce dependence on Chinese raw materials, batteries and semiconductors, promising "no more naivety" in trade dealings with #Beijing.reuters.com/world/europe/g…
Last week, sources told Reuters that Germany's economy ministry was considering a raft of new measures to make business with China less attractive.
Robert Habeck told Reuters that China was a welcome trading partner, but Germany could not allow Beijing's protectionism to distort competition and would not hold back criticism of human rights violations under threat of losing business.
"We can't allow ourselves to be blackmailed," he said in an interview. Habeck didn't outline new measures in full, but said they would include closer examination of Chinese investments in Europe, such as infrastructure.
Last week, Reuters reported that the German economy ministry is considering measures such as reducing or scrapping investment and export guarantees for China and no longer promoting trade fairs.
Habeck said Germany must open up to new trading partners and regions as many sectors were dependent heavily on selling to China. "It if were to close, which is not likely at the moment, we would have extreme sales problems," he said.
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