Germany’s Relations with China: An Uneasy Trinity of Partnership, Competition, and Rivalry

Since 2019, Brussels and Berlin have been building relations with Beijing in the paradigm of a contradictory triad of partnership, economic competition, and systemic rivalry. The current German government continues to adhere to this approach, which was enshrined in the coalition agreement. On its basis, during 2022 and the first half of 2023, the foundations of a Strategy for Relations with China were being prepared, which became the first in the history of Germany and reflected not so much the unity as the differences of the coalition parties in shaping the current Chinese vector of the German state’s foreign policy. As in other strategic issues, the Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals had to follow the path of compromise, which from the very beginning called into question the possibility of achieving the set strategic goals and objectives in the long term. This article analyzes the features of the preparation of the Chinese strategy of the Federal Government, its adoption, and the implementation of the political and economic provisions formulated in it starting from the second half of 2023. Special attention is paid to the study of the latest trends in foreign trade and investment cooperation between Germany and China in 2023–2024, as well as to the role of various government departments and the European Commission in the development of bilateral relations. The effect of the visits of the Federal Chancellor and Vice Chancellor to China in April and June 2024, which took place against the background of the aggravation of economic relations between Brussels and Beijing, is analyzed. The stumbling block was the issue of state support for Chinese business, which, from the point of view of the European Commission, distorts market competition, giving an unreasonable advantage to Chinese companies. The author attempts to predict the future of Germany–China relations in the context of the formulated triad.