Scholz: Germany will reduce its economic dependence on China
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged that he would reduce his country’s economic dependence on China, and that Germany would avoid unilateral dependence on individual countries, in addition to opening new sales markets.
Scholz said in remarks to the Japanese Nikkei newspaper on Thursday, that Germany has given priority to China in its policy related to Asia and has long focused on Beijing on the trade side, but the Russian war in Ukraine; Pushing Germany to give up Russian energy, and highlighting the danger of over-reliance on a single country, is what constitutes Berlin’s new policy towards China, which is expected to be approved by the Cabinet soon.
He stressed that Germany doesn’t intend to separate from China, and said, “China is an important country with great economic power… It’s a partner and a systematic competitor at the same time, and there will be no separation, we’ll continue to work together on the economic level, but at the same time we continue to develop our relations with other partners in Asia”.
Asked about the possibility of a conflict over Taiwan, the German chancellor said, “Just like the United States, Japan and many other countries, we adhere to the one-China policy,” but warned Beijing: “We’re making it clear that force shouldn’t be used to change the status quo”.
It’s noteworthy that Germany’s policy towards Asia is undergoing a major shift and this is likely to be an advantage for Japan in particular.
Last year, the German Chancellor chose Japan, not China, for his first visit to Asia, and said that the decision aims to move relations with Japan to a new stage.
On March 18, the governments of Japan and Germany will hold their first government consultations, a new framework for regular government discussions that will include the leaders of the two countries.
