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Sino-German economic cooperation: partner, competitor or system rival?
The third day of China Week was dedicated to German-Chinese economic relations, the opportunities and challenges of which were discussed from various perspectives in the CUTEC lecture hall. The event was moderated by Prof. Dr. Roland Menges from the Institute of Economics. In his welcoming address, he first presented a few statistical "highlights" on the change in German attitudes towards China and used various examples to illustrate that "the perception of Germans and Chinese is very different". Donald Coase's statement from 2012 that "China will never be more than the world's workbench" would therefore have to be corrected, because today we can benefit from China's expertise in many areas, such as e-mobility or sustainable energy systems.
The first lecture on "Competition and cooperation potential with China in the Global South" was given by sinologist Dr. Marina Rudyak from the University of Heidelberg. Using examples from Africa, she explained that developing countries often prefer concrete support to empty promises. For China, Africa has therefore become the "continent of unlimited opportunities". Rudyak suggested that Germany and China could promote sustainable economic growth targets in developing countries through tripartite cooperation, although she also emphasized that Germany must "do its homework".
Prof. YU Xiaohua from the University of Göttingen spoke about "Global Supply Chain Restructuring in the Time of Derisking", which he illustrated with the production of the iPhone, among other things. He analyzed the influence of geopolitics, climate change and the pandemic on the global economy and presented strategies such as "China+1" and "nearshoring". Yu explained how Western countries are trying to minimize China's influence in high-tech sectors such as semiconductors through restrictions and how China is responding to these challenges with the policy of "double circulation".
Prof. Dr. Rolf Langhammer, former director of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, discussed the need for a German economic policy towards China. He criticized the German government's "de-risking" strategy as inadequate and recommended a diversified resource policy. In addition, a strategy should provide a framework and not contain regulations. Langhammer emphasized that such a strategy should observe market economy principles and that German companies should act independently.
Prof. Menges then thanked the audience for the "fireworks you fired off" and moved on to the more personal report by Guosheng Liu, founder of the China Travel Agency in Hamburg. He shared his experiences from 40 years of intercultural cooperation and presented success stories of German-Chinese business cooperation. He emphasized the importance of cultural understanding and creative approaches in international partnerships. By founding a Jiaozi factory in Goslar, he had ultimately "brought a piece of China to Germany".
The concluding panel discussion, moderated by Prof. Menges, was dedicated to the question "Partners, competitors or systemic rivals?" The discussion highlighted topics such as technological competition, market strategies and the role of the two countries in global supply chains. The often inadequate China expertise in Germany was also criticized, as "we [the China experts] actually all know each other", said Rudyak. According to Christian Claussen, this could be addressed at school, as "pupils are more open-minded than teachers". The different perspectives of the participants provided valuable insights for political and business decisions.
