Berlin is recalibrating its policy towards Beijing as economic gravity overrides ideological distance
When Chancellor Friedrich Merz landed in Beijing late last month for his first official visit to China, the symbolism was unmistakable. He joined a growing procession of Western leaders – following French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of 2025 and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the beginning of 2026 – seeking face time in the Chinese capital. Even Donald Trump is expected in Beijing at the turn of March and April.
This choreography reflects a broader geopolitical reality: amid fears of a two-front trade war with the world’s two superpowers, Western Europe’s leading economies are reassessing the logic of confrontation and economic disentanglement.
Merz’s visit unfolded against three converging pressures. Germany faces domestic economic stagnation, turbulent transatlantic relations, and a deepening need to recalibrate its relationship with China. Berlin’s earlier flirtation with “de-risking” and “decoupling” was born of geopolitical anxiety. But as the costs accumulate – industrial contraction, shrinking export markets, and competitive erosion – Germany’s political establishment appears to have reached a sober conclusion: strategic decoupling from China is not a viable long-term policy for the EU’s largest economy.
The visit’s dual objectives were clearly framed. On the one hand, Berlin sought to strengthen economic and trade cooperation. On the other, it aimed to conduct substantive consultations on international issues ranging from global supply chains to financial stability. Beneath the diplomatic language lies a fundamental tension. Beijing has consistently voiced concern over the over-securitization of economic relations and Western export restrictions on high-tech products. Germany, meanwhile, emphasizes reducing dependencies, addressing trade imbalances, and tightening export management. These positions are not easily reconciled, but they are no longer being treated as grounds for disengagement. Instead, they are becoming the subject of negotiation.
The economic context is decisive. China once again became Germany’s largest trading partner in 2025, supplanting the US, as it did from 2016 to 2023. Goods worth €170.6 billion flowed from China into Germany – an 8.8% annual increase – while German exports to China fell by 9.7% to €81.3 billion. The imbalance is striking, and Merz openly acknowledged that the trade deficit with Beijing has quadrupled since 2020. Yet the broader message is unmistakable: despite political rhetoric, economic gravity pulls Berlin eastward.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: rt.com
