‘China is not a fad’

Christian Straube oversees the China portfolio at Stiftung Mercator, one of Germany’s most financially strong private foundations.

Politics, business and science are demanding more China expertise. In its recently published China strategy, the German government dedicated an entire chapter to this complex issue. But in reality, many China programs see their funding cut or canceled altogether. In an interview with Felix Lee, Christian Straube from the Mercator Foundation defends himself against the accusation that fewer China programs are being supported.

There is a lot of talk about China expertise. And yet, it is striking that both the German government and private foundations are scaling back their China programs. How does this fit together?

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