Crises
Merz: China is increasingly threatening Germany’s security
CDU leader Friedrich Merz warns of China’s influence. photo
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
After the Chancellor’s trip to the Far East, CDU leader Merz is clear: extreme caution is required when dealing with the government in Beijing. There are also many risks for the economy.
After Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s (SPD) trip to China, CDU leader Friedrich Merz accused the government in Beijing of being directly responsible for the many wars and crises around the globe.
“China is behaving more and more repressively internally and increasingly aggressive externally. The People’s Republic of China is therefore becoming an increasing threat to our security,” said Merz in an interview with the German Press Agency in Munich.
China has no interest in ending the war against Ukraine
“Countries like North Korea, but also Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, are supported by China,” emphasized Merz. China may have exerted at least a temporary moderating influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the country “is unlikely to take part in any conference that is now to be called to end Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.” Both Switzerland and US President Joe Biden have launched initiatives, but Russia will probably not take part in any of these conferences either. “This shows that Russia and China have no real interest in ending the war against Ukraine.”
The political influence of the Communist Party in Beijing on foreign companies has not been as strong in the past 30 years as it is now, said Merz. “German companies are also affected by this. This is not opening up, but increasingly repressive. At the same time, China is becoming increasingly aggressive towards the outside world, with the blatant threat of military force against Taiwan, and with the expansion of large military capacities in the South and East China Seas. “
Companies need to be aware of risks
Of course, China remains economically interesting for our companies. “At the same time, every German company is well advised to analyze the risks, minimize them and classify them correctly in terms of balance sheet. We shouldn’t look back in a few years and say, as we did with Russia: We misjudged that,” emphasized Merz. Companies should know what they are doing. “Anyone who invests in China today must assess the increased risk. And companies must also know early enough that we would not be willing to save companies that have taken too high a risk in countries such as China.”
When it comes to strategically important resources and goods, the state must also clearly define the framework for investments and trade, “so that we do not find ourselves in dangerous dependencies again, as was the case with Russian gas.”