Germany and China: How Entanglement Undermines Freedom, Prosperity and Security

by Andreas Fulda

As Europe finds itself once again caught between two superpowers – the USA and a rising China – little has been written about a relationship that will have a profound influence on the international the relationship between the People's Republic of China and Germany.

In Germany and China , leading international relations expert Andreas Fulda looks critically at the increasingly interdependent relationship between the two countries. Drawing on examples from politics, industry, the development and technology sectors and culture, the book explores how successive governments from Helmut Schmidt to Angela Merkel have pursued ever-closer ties to China in the interests of short term economic gain. Fulda explores the danger of this increasing co-dependency not just for Germany, but for Europe and the international world order.

Genres: China, Politics, Nonfiction

258 pages, Hardcover

Published May 30, 2024

Reviews

[Martin Riexinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Russian invasion of Ukraine lead in Germany to a reckoning with the foreign police approach to Russia, based on the assumption (hope, allegation) that trade will via interdependency promote stability. Fulda demonstrates in his book that a similar flawed approach characterized the policy regering China under successive federal governments, in principle since Kohl, but primarily under Schröder and Merkel. He highlights as well the important role ex-chancellor and self declared foreign policy oracle Helmut Schmidt played when it comes to the legitimization of Thisted approach.

Fulda shows that Chinese trade policicies aim at monopolizibg essential goods and at creating dependent vassal states wit the purpose to reestablish China as superpower. This aspect us according to him too often ignored when - subsidized - cheaper Chibese offers are selected for infrastructure or the like. The beglect of human rights aspect has been constantly justified by German officials and business leader with cultural relativist arguments such as democracy does not fit China and is actually not demanded by the Chinese population.
Herefter Fulda goes into detail regarding business deals the Chinese side engineered to its advantage. He highlights that exports to China have long been stagnating. In an digression on academic cooperation he demonstrates the corrupting effects of subservience.

In a final plea he urges German political, academic and business elites to abandon their illusions and step up to Chinese aggressive behavior. Something which the economically much weaker Czech Republic proudly did without major repercussions.

Interesting as the book is it is also cumbersome to read. Not only because of the rather Germanic English (I do not claim that my academic writings in English are very readable). The book is a kind of hybrid between a book aiming at the public debate and a theory based polsci treatise.
Many aspects which are self evident for Germans are not explained, as for example why the last German government was called traffic light coalition, some of them essential, like the special role of the federal state Lower Saxony in the VW-company.

Finally it should be noted that the former head of the Information Security Authority Arne Schönbohm has been cleared of denunciations of espionage on behalf of Russia as propagated by the TV anchor Böhmermann..

[Klaas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Fulda does not mince his words and that is a good thing when writing about the CCP and it’s way of behaving. It is understandable that the writer is not welcome in China anymore. The CCP does not like to be criticised and they do not have a normal reaction if people do. After reading this book it is clear to me that Chinese politicians cannot be trusted Was this a case of the politicians following the fat cats, what was Merkel’s(and others) stand on all this, her memoirs are coming out soon so maybe she will enlighten us on this. She says she won’t apologize for her diplomatic efforts like buying gas from autocratic russia or having ever closer ties with autocratic China. Failing to hear the warnings of the experts and journalists or was it just following the fat cats with the euro signs in their eyes? This book is again an eyeopener and once again shows that the CCP cannot be trusted.