China and Germany: The Honeymoon Is Over

Klaus Larres, Friends of the Institute for Advanced Study Member in the School of Historical Studies, discusses how a visit to China by Germany’s economics minister highlighted a blunter approach to bilateral relations.

The prolonged honeymoon between China and Germany has come to an abrupt halt. In Berlin awareness has grown that Beijing has moved from being an economic partner to a serious global competitor. German economics minister Sigmar Gabriel’s recent visit to China came in the middle of an atmosphere of crisis in German-Chinese economic relations. Instead of attempting to improve matters, however, Gabriel set out to teach the Chinese a lesson. Whether it is a wise and forward-looking strategy to deal in such a blustering way with the “800 pound gorilla” in Beijing remains to be seen.