German Trade Minister Katherina Reiche travels from ’ to China’e Monday to Friday as the trade deficit with Berlin’in Beijing’le continues to deepen.
The trip comes two days after several of AB’'s largest economies (France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Lithuania) issued a statement calling for AB’ to take action against overcapacity and unfair trade practices.
However, Berlin did not approve the call.
Germany remains the main narrow spot in AB’'s strategy for China’e. Previously on Euronews has been reportedGermany, which said the publication of ’'s trade deficit with Beijing’ late last year was a turning point for the EU administration, which sought to sharpen its means of commercial defense, continues to support cooperation with China.
In March, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a trade deal with Beijing. City of Brussels was pushed backagainst the idea.
Olof Gill, vice-president of the Commission ’, said at the time: There are a number of concerns and real challenges that “ constantly expresses, and we need to see them address it in a meaningful way before we talk about any future deal or anything like that.’
Berlin hopes Beijing will keep the ’ market open to German industry, despite a record trade deficit of €87 billion with China, obstacles faced by EU companies in China’, and a strategy to reduce the Asian giant's dependence on foreign products.
Access to the Chinese market
The main purpose of Reiche’'s visit this week is to discuss potential economic cooperation. According to the German government, the strategy is to explore opportunities for future cooperation while maintaining dialogue with the Chinese leadership.
Despite the ever-increasing trade deficit, China continued to be ’'s most important trading partner in 2025. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the volume of bilateral trade reached 250 billion Euro’. About 5,200 German companies operate in ’, making the country one of ’'s most important foreign markets for the automotive, mechanical engineering and electrical industries.
During the trip, Reiche’ is expected to hold political talks, attend a business forum and visit local companies. He will be accompanied by a business delegation representing about 40 companies. The focus will also be on the development of energy technologies.
Oliver Oehms, Executive Director of the German Chamber of Commerce in ’, China, said: "We hope that our visit to “ will help transfer the insights gained on the ground to the political debates in Berlin’ and further develop bilateral exchange.
In a survey published by the Chamber in May, 51 percent of German companies operating in China’ supported policies that support partnerships with Chinese companies, while 42 percent supported the use of ’strategic’ with information obtained through such partnerships.
But these sectors are also increasingly under pressure as Chinese competitors benefit from extensive state subsidies.
According to a report published in May by the European Reform Centre, an EU think tank, the concentration of global automobile, machinery and chemical production in China’ could undermine innovation in traditional manufacturing centers and increase Beijing’'s influence over Berlin through the threat of supply disruption, similar to the blockade imposed on rare-earth exports in 2025’te.
The report also noted that the demand generated by Germany's fiscal stimulus after ’ eased the debt brake could increase Chinese imports instead of supporting Berlin’'s domestic industry.
Germany’'s China’e exports on an annual basis %9.7 imports of Chinese goods such as electronics, electric vehicles and components while falling %Significantly increased by 8.8 percent.
According to the report, “China has already eaten most of the German industry's lunch and is preparing to start dinner, ” said.
