China and Germany: Why the emerging special relationship matters for Europe (ECFR policy brief Book 55)
Book Details
Author(s)Hans Kundnani, Jonas Parello-Plesner
PublisherECFR
ISBN / ASINB00844JZ5U
ISBN-13978B00844JZ53
MarketplaceFrance 🇫🇷
Description
The increase in trade between China and Germany during the last decade – and, in particular, in German exports to China – has exceeded all expectations. Based on the economic symbiosis between China and Germany, a “special relationship†is now developing – just as Europe is beginning to develop a more strategic approach to China based on a clearer definition of the European Union’s common interests and how to pursue them.
Against the background of the euro crisis, China increasingly seems to see Germany as the dominant player in Europe and one whose economic dependence on China and strategic preferences make it a preferred partner.
Germany’s instincts remain European, but officials are frustrated by the failure of their attempt to develop a common strategic European approach to China and do not feel they can wait any longer. Germany must not give up on Europe. But the rest of Europe also urgently needs to help Germany to be a good European by developing a real “strategic partnership†with China before it is too late. The EU should identify where Europe can help Germany in its relationship with China; empower the European External Action Service (EEAS) to co-ordinate a “top-down†approach to China policy; and explore new formats for dealing with China.
ECFR policy briefs can be downloaded free of charge at http://ecfr.eu (pdf only)
China and Germany: Why the emerging special relationship matters for Europe (13 pages, 7943 words)
Hans Kundnani is editorial director at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He has written about German foreign policy for various journals including the Washington Quarterly and Internationale Politik. He previously worked as a journalist and continues to write for various magazines and newspapers including the Guardian, New Statesman and the Times Literary Supplement. He is the author of Utopia or Auschwitz. Germany’s 1968 Generation and the Holocaust (London/New York, 2009).
Jonas Parello-Plesner is a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he was director of a development NGO with activities in Asia and served as Denmark’s Senior Advisor on China and North East Asia from 2005–2009. He is also on the editorial board of RÆSON, a Danish international affairs magazine. His publications for ECFR include The Scramble for Europe (with François Godement and Alice Richard, 2011) and China’s Janus-faced response to the Arab revolutions (with Raffaello Pantucci, 2011).
Against the background of the euro crisis, China increasingly seems to see Germany as the dominant player in Europe and one whose economic dependence on China and strategic preferences make it a preferred partner.
Germany’s instincts remain European, but officials are frustrated by the failure of their attempt to develop a common strategic European approach to China and do not feel they can wait any longer. Germany must not give up on Europe. But the rest of Europe also urgently needs to help Germany to be a good European by developing a real “strategic partnership†with China before it is too late. The EU should identify where Europe can help Germany in its relationship with China; empower the European External Action Service (EEAS) to co-ordinate a “top-down†approach to China policy; and explore new formats for dealing with China.
ECFR policy briefs can be downloaded free of charge at http://ecfr.eu (pdf only)
China and Germany: Why the emerging special relationship matters for Europe (13 pages, 7943 words)
Hans Kundnani is editorial director at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He has written about German foreign policy for various journals including the Washington Quarterly and Internationale Politik. He previously worked as a journalist and continues to write for various magazines and newspapers including the Guardian, New Statesman and the Times Literary Supplement. He is the author of Utopia or Auschwitz. Germany’s 1968 Generation and the Holocaust (London/New York, 2009).
Jonas Parello-Plesner is a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he was director of a development NGO with activities in Asia and served as Denmark’s Senior Advisor on China and North East Asia from 2005–2009. He is also on the editorial board of RÆSON, a Danish international affairs magazine. His publications for ECFR include The Scramble for Europe (with François Godement and Alice Richard, 2011) and China’s Janus-faced response to the Arab revolutions (with Raffaello Pantucci, 2011).
