00:00During her first official visit to China, German economy minister Katarina Reicher is calling for fair competition and closer cooperation
00:08with Beijing.
00:09Reicher says Germany wants stable ties as both countries work to secure critical minerals.
00:14She's also hoping to strengthen trade, currently worth more than 290 billion US dollars.
00:22Our companies contribute to China's growth with over a million jobs, also through research and innovation.
00:28And this is highly appreciated here.
00:30Our shared interest is to keep this relationship stable, respectful, reliable, fair and geared towards balance.
00:39And I've been speaking to former German MP Sevim Dadelin.
00:43First of all, it's very important that Germanist economy minister Katarina Reicher is traveling to China.
00:50China is a very important country.
00:52I think sometimes a number first trade partner, sometimes the second.
01:00So we hope she will make a genuine effort to improve the German-Chinese trade relations.
01:07And however, the government is sending mixed signals, I think, because at the same time,
01:14one of her party colleagues, who also works as an armed lobbyist, is leading a parliamentary delegation to Taiwan at
01:24the moment.
01:25And this raises the question of whether Germany truly respects its own one-China policy.
01:30In addition, Minister Reicher's ministry is responsible for approving dual-use goods exports from Germany to Taiwan.
01:41So we must wait and see if the German government is really serious about improving relations with China
01:48above all the interests Katarina Reicher might have now with her visit.
01:54So part of the reason is to reset the ties between Germany and China.
01:59And also business is really big because major German companies, including BASF,
02:04and also ThyssenKrupp and Siemens Energy, are part of the delegation we can see.
02:08So what are German businesses hoping to get out of this visit?
02:12Well, because of the negative tariff deal with the United States and the loss of cheap Russian energy,
02:21the German industry is under enormous pressure.
02:26And the hope is that stronger economic cooperation with China can at least cushion these giant problems,
02:36what the German industry has.
02:39However, I think we need honest and intensive dialogue with China,
02:45especially about the use of the raw earth and critical raw materials from China,
02:52while Germany is massively increasing its military spending and exporting dual-use goods to Taiwan still.
03:01The minister says that competition makes a stronger cooperation,
03:05create stability and innovation, create shared progress.
03:08So how does Germany balance competition with cooperation when it comes to China,
03:14particularly at a time of growing economic and tech rivalry?
03:18Well, the thing is, we had in the last years very tense and tensions within the German-Chinese relations,
03:31also in the trade relations.
03:34And I think it's very important to now to get a better atmosphere for these relations.
03:43And that's why I do welcome this.
03:47But I do hope that this visit will be honest on both sides.
03:55Because I think the most important thing, what I know from the Chinese diplomacy,
04:02and I think it's one of the first rules of the international relations at all,
04:07is that you can develop relations only if you develop it on the basis of reciprocity.
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