00:00Germany, as you have also recognized, is dramatically dependent on critical raw materials.
00:06We need over 3,000 tons of rare earths every year.
00:11Two-thirds of this comes from China.
00:15Demand is growing faster than all the recycling volumes in the world combined, and countries
00:19like China have long been using export controls as a means of exerting power.
00:25Let's face reality.
00:27Today, it is not Germany but Beijing that decides whether our supply chains are running.
00:33Other nations are acting much more resolutely than Germany.
00:38Now the USA is investing billions in raw material storage and is also assuming state risks to
00:42secure raw materials.
00:47China recycles, China extracts, China stores and is years ahead in terms of processing
00:51technology.
00:56While other nations are securing all available energy sources, our paths are now diverging,
01:01Germany is blowing up cooling towers.
01:06Innovation is still being stifled by bureaucracy or, more than ever, by approval procedures.
01:11Until recently, you have not managed to set up your own functioning raw materials fund.
01:17Let me remind you of my opening statement.
01:20I want Germany to once again become a sovereign country guided by German interests.
01:26That is why we are calling for this in our motions, many of which you seem to agree with,
01:31Dr. Ludwig.
01:33We can discuss this.
01:35Europe, the EU is more of a passenger than a driver in some areas.
01:39Of course, we also need the appropriate European initiatives.
01:43The Critical Raw Materials Act was mentioned, but we also need further initiatives.
01:49It is always about greater resilience and greater sovereignty.
01:54Greater resilience also costs more money in the short term, but brings greater security
01:58in the long term.
01:59It is about clever political balancing and setting priorities.
02:05Politics is needed here and we are addressing precisely these challenges.
02:10Ladies and gentlemen, dear citizens, China has long since become an enormously important
02:14trading partner for Germany and, interestingly, according to the latest figures from October,
02:19its trade volume has even surpassed that of the USA.
02:23You could also say that it is the most important trading partner in terms of volume.
02:28Therefore, a withdrawal from the Chinese market would be disastrous in every respect.
02:35We need sustainable and friendly relations with China.
02:41On the other hand, as a sovereign trading nation, we must not allow ourselves to become dependent
02:45on any country in the world.
02:53Key technologies, critical raw materials and strategically important production facilities
02:58must not fall into the hands of foreign companies, including non-Chinese companies, which in turn
03:03pursue their national interests and not necessarily ours.
03:09Furthermore, we must clearly demand one principle in our relations with China, and this is also
03:15mentioned in your motion, the principle of reciprocity.
03:21Contracts, cooperation and investments may only take place if Germany is given equal access
03:27to markets, technologies and investment opportunities.
03:35Without this harmony, there is a real risk that German companies will be disadvantaged, while
03:39Chinese investors in turn will operate with privileged positions on domestic markets.
03:44The Chinese government does not do that.
03:58Why are we still so nice?
04:02Why don't we insist on equal rights, on mutual opening of markets for government contracts?
04:08That would be something you could also address immediately.
04:12is not a helpful signal.
04:18The CDU and SPD want to set up a commission to review the security-relevant economic relations
04:23between Germany and China and are raising legitimate questions.
04:28However, it is also a special commission for a single specific country, the likes of which
04:34has never existed before.
04:39Is that the right signal to send in an already tense situation?
04:44Dear colleagues, demand a lot from yourself and expect little from others.
04:48That will save you trouble.
04:51This quote from Confucius describes our challenge.
04:54We must be sovereign on the basis of our own strength in order not to be blackmailed.
05:01We need to know what we know and what we don't know so that we can eliminate our weaknesses.
05:07We must not be one-sidedly strategically dependent on raw materials, rare earths or microchips,
05:12because that makes us vulnerable.
05:14That is the starting point, as has already been described to you many times today.
05:19Our commission is entitled Sovereignty Through Our Own Strength and it will basically serve
05:23four goals.
05:25First, a clear analysis of where we are dependent.
05:29Secondly, it will make specific legislative and executive proposals.
05:34Thirdly, it will integrate this into a holistic approach and fourthly, it will also bring together
05:39various interests, including within the business community.
05:44That is why we have such a diverse committee on security-relevant economic relations between Germany
05:49and China.
05:51Who will vote in favor of the motion?
05:53The CDU, CSU Parliamentary Group, the AFD Parliamentary Group and the SPD Parliamentary
05:57Group.
05:58Who will vote against it?
05:59The Alliance 90, the Greens Parliamentary Group and the Left Parliamentary Group will abstain.
06:06The motion is therefore adopted.
06:08I call.
06:09The
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