China Commission Presenting Its First Half-Yearly Report

Germany’s economic dependence on China has intensified further. This is the conclusion reached in the first half-yearly report by the Commission to Review Security-Relevant Trade Relations between Germany and China, a body established by the German Bundestag. The 13-member panel of experts also includes Professor Bettina Peters, deputy head of ZEW’s Research Unit “Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics”. The commission sees a significant need for action, particularly with regard to supply chains, critical infrastructure and security-relevant technologies. 

The experts note that Germany’s economic security vis-à-vis China has deteriorated since the commission was established. They state that hardly any tangible progress has been made to date in reducing critical dependencies and developing a German economic security strategy. They recommend, therefore, that economic risks should be assessed more systematically and that Germany and the EU should be better prepared for potential trade conflicts, for example, by conducting cross-departmental situation assessments and comprehensively evaluating geo-economic risks in the German National Security Council.