Germany should fundamentally rethink its relationship with China, says former Australian Prime Minister Rudd. Berlin must therefore decide whether it wants to become more and more economically dependent on Beijing – or whether the “political costs” will be given greater consideration in the future.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is calling on the federal government to readjust its policy towards China. “In the coming months, the Germans will have to make the very fundamental decision as to whether they want to continue their policy towards Beijing unchanged, i.e. whether Volkswagen or Siemens will become more and more dependent on China. Or whether to pursue a course that reduces the political costs more taken into account,” Rudd told the “Spiegel”.
Australia’s former prime minister knows China better than almost any other western politician. He is a sinologist and has worked as a diplomat in Beijing. Rudd considers China’s ruler Xi Jinping to be an ideologue. “Xi wants to make the rest of the world dependent on exports to China. He believes that once other countries get into China’s economic gravity field, they will have difficulty challenging China on other policy areas, such as human rights or the Taiwan Conflict.”
At the same time, Rudd predicted difficult economic times for China. There are three factors that are slowing down Chinese economic growth: “Firstly, the corona lockdowns. Nobody knows how long they will continue and how Xi Jinping wants to get out of the zero-Covid trap. Secondly, demographics. Chinese society is so misogynous “That Chinese women refuse to have children. Third, ideology. Since the 19th CCP Congress in 2017, Xi has shifted his economic policies more and more toward the Marxist left.”
According to Rudd, Xi and Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin have “developed an almost umbilical relationship.” “Putin’s plan is to remain in office until 2036. In my estimation, Xi wants to rule until the 23rd party congress in 2037, when he would be 84 years old. So if we look at the next 15 years, then I see nothing at the moment that could shake this relationship.”