Europe decoupling from China ‘wouldn’t be right’, Angela Merkel says
- German chancellor warns it would be damaging and says it’s important for cooperation to continue
- She also says Germany’s initial approach to some partnerships with China may have been naive, but ‘these days we look more closely’
“Maybe initially we were rather too naive in our approach to some cooperation partnerships,” she said. “These days we look more closely, and rightly so.”
“Total decoupling wouldn’t be right in my view, it would be damaging for us,” she said.
Merkel also said Germany was continuously in discussions with Beijing on intellectual property and patent protection, “both with regard to Chinese students in Germany and German enterprises operating in China”.
Merkel has sought to engage with China during her 16 years at the helm, and helped to nurture EU-China ties. She did not seek re-election in the September election and will step down once a new coalition government is formed.
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As Brussels tries to balance ties between Beijing and Taipei, China is trying to re-engage with Europe. Zhang Ming, China’s ambassador to the European Union, has said there are plans to hold an EU-China summit by the end of this year.
On climate issues, Merkel told Reuters that she had urged Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in a phone call to use cleaner technology if new coal-fired plants were being built in China.
“I have just spoken to the Chinese premier and discussed whether it would not be better, if his country is going to build coal-fired power plants, to at least build the latest generation,” she said.
Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union, is headed for the opposition and likely to take a “hawkish turn on China” after she steps down, according to Noah Barkin, a Europe-China expert at Rhodium Group.
“The government that replaces her will also strike a different tone because it will include two parties, the Greens and Free Democrats, who support a harder line,” Barkin said.
“In her final months in office, Merkel has been doing all she can to ensure that her dialogue-first approach to China remains in place after her departure. But the political mood in Germany, as well as China’s own trajectory, suggest otherwise.”
Additional reporting by Jun Mai