Germany and China: Is their friendship over?

China In Context

Since the early 1980s, Germany and China have been in a fruitful symbiotic relationship, which has fuelled the growth of both their economies. Many Chinese factory workers use German machines to make goods which they export back to Europe and the rest of the world. However, since the start of 2021, the mood between China and Germany has soured considerably, after China imposed sanctions on Germans who had criticised its policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. The situation is growing more tense ahead of the election which is due in Germany in the autumn of 2021. Professor Hanns Maull, a Senior Associate Fellow at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics) in Berlin, outlines the various strands of thinking about China within Germany in this podcast hosted by Duncan Bartlett, Editor of Asian Affairs magazine.
China In Context: Episode 18
Broadcast date: June 8th, 2021