How should Germany deal with China?
In front of the German-Chinese government coalitions, foreign politicians in the Bundestag are calling for a realistic image of China - and the government for a clear edge.
Munich / Berlin / Beijing - German-Chinese government consultations take place every two years - a meeting of practically the entire cabinets of both countries. Today, Wednesday, it's that time again - in many ways under different circumstances. Not only because the event is taking place virtually for the first time due to the corona pandemic. Above all, it is the view of China that has changed significantly since the last consultations in 2019. China has become more self-confident and for years has been formulating the claim to have a say in global issues - for example in terms of technology standards or the global financial system. And forbids what has been called “interference in internal affairs” for decades: criticism of the human rights situation in the country or the political system as a whole.European and American politicians have been grappling with this for a long time, the long-cherished principle of hope “change through trade” is considered to have failed: trade is going well, but change has not materialized.
So how should Germany deal with China? "The big challenge is that we really accept China as it sees itself, namely equipped with the will and the power to achieve and enforce the major revision of the international order," said Norbert Röttgen, (CDU), Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, on Tuesday in a webinar by the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin. China has a different view of law and of its own role and relevance, said Röttgen. "We have to draw conclusions from this."
Two years ago, the EU first defined the triad that China was a system rival, economic competitor and cooperation partner at the same time. When it comes to cooperation, most people in Brussels think primarily of climate protection. In Germany there is also the economy. China is Germany's largest trading partner; as one of the few industrialized countries, we even have a trade surplus. And so there was occasional criticism in Europe that Germany was acting too China-friendly. "Many are now looking at us," stated Röttgen, referring to the government consultations.
According to government spokesman Steffen Seibert, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang will hold a bilateral discussion during the deliberations and then discuss them with business representatives. After that, the cabinets of both countries should meet together. In addition to a large group with all ministers, in which Li and Merkel set the tone, there will also be one-on-one discussions with the respective specialist colleagues. The representatives of all parliamentary groups at the MERICS webinar - in addition to the CDU, these were the Greens, the SPD and the FDP - agreed that the sanctions recently imposed by China in connection with the situation in Xinjiang should be a topic of the consultations - and that the The government has to speak plainly here - as is generally the case with the subject of human rights.
China: The topics are always business and human rights - which balance is right?
Gyde Jensen (FDP), chairwoman of the Bundestag human rights committee, warned AFP against leaving out human rights so that economic relations would not be burdened. In this context, Bijan Djir-Sarai (FDP), member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, emphasized at the webinar that companies operating in China need legal security and planning security - it is not possible that they are suddenly sanctioned there, even if it is because of the Activities of individual employees. "We need a change in awareness in the economy and the management level of companies," said Nils Schmid, foreign policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group. “There is still the misunderstanding there that growth in China will continue as before - and that European companies will continue to participate as before.“In truth, however, Chinese companies can increasingly supply their own market themselves, and China will continue to seal itself off,” said Schmid.
Despite all the challenges, "decoupling" from China and Germany is the wrong way, as Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) recently emphasized after a conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Government spokesman Steffen Seibert also said that the German government appreciates the opportunities offered by a format such as the government consultations in order to achieve “concrete progress” on topics of mutual interest.
"Despite the pandemic and despite travel restrictions, German-Chinese and European-Chinese relations are dynamic, dense and diverse."
China: mixture of hardship and dialogue
So it is a struggle over the question: How much cooperation, how much dialogue do we need - and where do we have to show a clear edge, even if one or the other thread of the conversation breaks. In the opinion of Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock, a mixture of “dialogue and hardship” is the right approach for the West. Similar to US President Joe Biden, Baerbock sees the relationship with China as a “competition of systems:“ authoritarian forces versus liberal democracies, ”as she
said
in an interview with the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
. Norbert Röttgen also sees it this way: "We need a coordinated line - not against China, but for the liberal legal system that is being attacked by China." This includes cooperation with other central powers, such as China's neighbors in the Far East.
China: The CAI - Oumidpour investment agreement falls apart and does not expect ratification in the European Parliament
One of the areas of tension between business and politics is the CAI investment agreement signed in December. This is intended to give European companies access to Chinese industries in which they have previously been disadvantaged. Opponents of the agreement criticize that occupational safety is not sufficiently taken into account - especially in view of the accusation that China is using members of the Uyghur minority as forced laborers in the north-west region, for example in the cotton sector. The Bundestag Human Rights Committee will examine the question of whether the reports and documents on mass incarceration, torture and birth control from Xinjiang justify the term genocide on May 17th. China rejects all of the allegations.The situation in Xinjiang has already resulted in mutual sanctions being imposed between China and the EU. Affected are EU parliamentarians who are critical of China and also the MERICS institute. The ratification of CAI in the EU Parliament has since been on hold. "I assume that CAI will not be ratified in the European Parliament," said Omid Nouripour, foreign policy spokesman for the Greens at the webinar.
Climate change remains a clear area of cooperation and cannot be averted without cooperation from China. In preparation for the government consultations, Environment Minister Svenja Schulze and her Chinese counterpart Huang Runqiu have already agreed on closer cooperation on climate protection and environmental issues.
(ck)