The dependent Olaf Scholz

Departure for Beijing as Minister of Finance 2019: This time, Olaf Scholz will travel to a different China in a new role.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz himself must be surprised that he has to face so much criticism for his visit to China. In the past, such a trip was merely routine; nowadays, it contradicts the spirit of his own „Zeitenwende“ (change of times). One day before departure, the Chancellor’s Office had to justify the visit and sounded surprisingly defensive. In reality, the German economy is more dependent on China than ever before.

One lesson from Putin’s war of aggression on Ukraine should be: Just not to be dependent on authoritarian states anymore. The problem is that Germany’s economy is far more dependent on China than it is on Russia.

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