AJ
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stood in front of the cameras to discuss Germany’s relationship with China ahead of a flight and visit to Beijing: “We must pursue a policy of de-risking,” the Chancellor said: “but decoupling from China would be a mistake – with decoupling we would harm ourselves.
“We would block our own economic opportunities instead of improving them – the world would not become safer – and we would lose the chance to tackle global challenges together.”
Merz continued: “China has risen to the ranks of the great powers – no one can bypass China anymore – global political challenges cannot be managed today without Beijing.
“China’s voice is heard – including in Moscow – China has the opportunity to use its influence – for peace and security in the Pacific, China is a decisive factor.”
Merz said that: “If we want to have ‘great power politics’, we have to do our homework – this applies to the Federal Republic of Germany and the entire European Union – this is why we invest in our competitiveness, our defence and our resilience, this makes us a stronger and better partner, also for China.”
Chancellor Merz continued: “Competition is healthy as long as it is fair – China and Germany have had positive experiences together over many decades – for us Germans, this was a very positive experience, but the prerequisite, however, is that our competition is fair and transparent.”
Quoting proverbs, Merz said: “In China, they say: ‘a horse’s strength isn’t shown alone, but only when it pulls a cart together with others’, [and] I think that’s a fitting image to begin my journey – I’m looking forward to this trip.”
