In the case of Russia, hope for “change through trade” has proved obsolete. The motto no longer applies to China either, says Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Instead, Europe must develop relations with Southeast Asia.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned that Germany and Europe are becoming too dependent on China economically. The principle of “change through trade” is something “that we can no longer trust in the future,” Steinmeier said on ARD during his visit to Ukraine.
“The history of European-Russian and German-Russian relations is proof that there is no guarantee, no certainty, that economic exchange will also lead to political rapprochement,” said Steinmeier. “We all have to live with this disappointment,” he said, referring to the Russian wars of aggression in Ukraine.
“For the future, that means we have to learn lessons (…), we have to reduce one-sided dependencies wherever possible, this also applies to China in particular,” said Steinmeier. He emphasized that it was important to talk “more intensively” with China’s neighbors. Although these cannot replace trade relations with China, the relationship with Southeast Asia can be rebalanced, said Steinmeier.
