The German Economy's Growing Dependence on China: A Critical Assessment

Against the background of the recent intensification of global geopolitical tensions and, in this framework, of the announcement made by the German authorities regarding a future “historic turning point” (Zeitenwende) in the country’s foreign policy, meant to contribute (among others) to the reduction of the economic dependence on countries with a totalitarian regime, our research aims at obtaining an in-depth image of the current status of the economic relations between Germany and China. Based on the quantitative measurement analyses performed, the article emphasises China’s role and importance for the German traditional export-centred development model, as well as the challenges resulting from the deepening of these interdependencies. At the same time, we emphasise, on the one hand, the strategic motivations underlying the orientation of Chinese investment flows towards the acquisition of German high technology and related knowhow, as well as the factors that determine the accelerating trend of German investments on the Chinese market and, on the other hand, the risks that German companies face at present as a result of China’s increased assertiveness on the international stage.