In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany might have been naive in its engagement with China at first, but warned the West against severing ties with the Asian giant amid growing tensions over 5G networks and semiconductors.
“Maybe initially we were rather too naive in our approach to some cooperation partnerships. These days we look more closely, and rightly so,” Merkel said. She added that Germany and the European Union (EU) should continue cooperating with China on research and development and learn from each other. “Total decoupling wouldn’t be right in my view. It would be damaging for us,” the Chancellor opined.
Merkel, who is currently leading Germany’s caretaker government until a new coalition government is sworn in, has served as Chancellor for 16 years. During her tenure, Merkel’s China became Germany’s top trading partner (in 2016). She also played a huge role in shaping Europe’s engagement strategy with the Asian giant.
Some critics say Germany is too reliant on China and have accused the country of adopting a soft stance on Beijing on issues including human rights violations and its coercive manoeuvres in the Indo-Pacific region. Merkel’s government, however, has countered that it has held discussions with Chinese officials on human rights abuses during trips to Beijing. During the Reuters interview this week, Merkel said Germany is constantly discussing intellectual property and patent protection with China, and is also holding talks about Chinese students studying in Germany and German firms operating in China.
Furthermore, Merkel urged Western democracies trying to formulate ethical standards for new technologies to stay abreast of technological advancements and fully grasp their impact. She said, “At the moment, that is not the case in Europe in fields such as quantum computers and artificial intelligence. China and in many areas the US, are better.”
However, she suggested that nations must protect their critical infrastructure and referred to Germany’s new security laws that give the government greater power to scrutinise equipment producers for next generations telecommunications networks such as China’s Huawei. She added, “I feel it is always important to stress that individual companies should not be excluded from the outset.”
Towards the end of the interview, Merkel declared, “We need an open system in which everyone is assessed according to the same standards.”
German Chancellor Merkel Warns Against Severing All Ties With China Amid Growing Tensions
German Chancellor warned Western nations against severing ties with China amid growing tensions and urged them to cooperate with Beijing on research and the development of emerging technologies.
November 19, 2021
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping IMAGE SOURCE: POLITICO EUROPE