Germany Faces Strategic Challenges in Reducing Economic Dependence on China
Norbert Röttgen calls for Germany to reduce economic dependence on China and strengthen military readiness amidst geopolitical challenges, while Germany pursues advanced tech investments such as an AI Gigafactory.
- • Norbert Röttgen criticizes Germany's overreliance on China for critical raw materials and market access.
- • Germany needs to invest in domestic resources and diversify supply chains, following Japan's example.
- • The Ukraine war strengthens China's strategic position by increasing Russia's dependence on Chinese support.
- • Germany's military requires better planning and transparency despite available funding.
- • Germany is exploring hosting an AI Gigafactory to enhance technological sovereignty and computing capacity.
Key details
Norbert Röttgen, a leading CDU foreign policy expert, has sharply criticized Germany's handling of its relationship with China, describing the country's current strategic approach as insufficient despite multiple outlined strategies on paper. Röttgen highlights Germany's economic dependency on China as intolerably high, compromising national sovereignty. He notes that Germany relies heavily on China not only as a major market but crucially as a supplier of rare earth minerals and critical raw materials, a dependence that exposes Germany to potential political coercion.
Röttgen advocates for a "De-Risking" approach, urging Germany to invest in developing domestic raw material resources, enhancing recycling processes, and diversifying supply chains. He points to Japan's success in reducing its dependence on China as a possible model to emulate. He further stresses that Europe itself possesses unutilized resources hampered by societal and logistical challenges that must be overcome.
The geopolitical context also features prominently in Röttgen's analysis. He underscores how the ongoing war in Ukraine benefits China strategically—Russia, heavily reliant on China, is sustained in its military efforts primarily due to Chinese support. This alignment of Chinese interests includes prolonging the conflict and leveraging control over global oil prices.
Beyond economic concerns, Röttgen criticizes Germany's military preparedness, emphasizing that although funds are available, the German armed forces require improved planning, transparency, and accountability. He calls for establishing clear recruitment and personnel growth targets in military legislation to strengthen defense capabilities.
In a related technological context, Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President of the European Commission for technological sovereignty, highlighted Germany's aspiration to host an AI Gigafactory. She mentioned that ten consortia have shown interest in investing, underlining the need for increased computing power in Germany to meet future technological demands.
Together, these insights reveal a multifaceted challenge for Germany: balancing economic interdependence with China, addressing geopolitical risks, and boosting domestic innovation and defense to secure its strategic autonomy and resilience.