Correspondent in Berlin
It is in Chongqing, 30 million inhabitants, the rail exit gate for Chinese goods towards Europe and the river port of Duisburg, that Olaf Scholz began his three-day state visit to China on Sunday, including two predominantly economic. The German chancellor quickly visited a Bosch factory manufacturing hydrogen engines.
Despite – or because of – the commercial dumping exercised by China in Europe, the security threats exerted by the Middle Kingdom and the diplomatic confrontation between Beijing and the American ally, Germany intends to warm up relations with his business partner. Olaf Scholz arrived at the head of a delegation of a dozen industrialists, from Siemens to Mercedes, including Thyssen Krupp.
From year to year, the trade imbalance between Germany and China is growing. According to the German insurer Allianz, Rhine exports have fallen by a third since the last quarter of 2020…