Altmaier, who previously served as chief of staff to Chancellor Angela Merkel and remains a confidant, said this strategy, known in German as Wandel durch Handel (change through trade): He had worked with the former Soviet Union and remained at the center of Germany’s focus on difficult regimes in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
“I have always been convinced and continue to believe that change can be achieved through trade,” said Altmaier, adding that it would be too risky to pursue a confrontational course that did not guarantee success.
In 2016, China overtook the United States to become Berlin’s largest trading partner. And last year, Germany exported € 96 billion worth of goods to the country.
Although Altmaier insisted that “protecting human rights and enforcing contracts are the foundation of good economic relations,” both he and the German government have faced harsh criticism at home and abroad for what some consider to be their approach. toothless towards China.
The Merkel government has remained largely silent on Beijing’s decision last month to introduce its new security law, suspending the personal freedoms that the Hong Kong people had long enjoyed. To the contrary, the United States and the United Kingdom have threatened China with serious consequences on the measure, effectively ending the “one country two systems” policy. Consecrated in the Sino-British Joint Declaration governing the transfer of the territory from Great Britain to China in 1997, Beijing had pledged to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, including extra-democratic rights for its citizens.
When asked if he could be sure that China would respect any agreement negotiated with the EU, given that it appeared to have broken the treaty with Britain, Altmaier said that “it is a prerequisite for all trade relations that you comply with the agreements” .
“Of course, the quality and future of the relationship also depends on the fact that all parties involved adhere to valid agreements that have been concluded,” he said.
However, Berlin’s policy in China is even controversial among Merkel’s own Christian Democrats (CDU). Norbert Röttgen, chairman of Germany’s foreign affairs committee and a candidate to become the next CDU leader, called China’s move a clear “violation of international law” and called on Germany and the EU to condemn it. Green opponents have also demanded that Merkel speak out against Beijing’s movements in Hong Kong.
However, even if such calls grow stronger, Merkel is unlikely to budge, given the importance of Germany’s economic relationship with China. Indeed, Altmaier made it clear that Germany was eager to further deepen those ties, stressing that an investment protection agreement between the EU and China was the most important thing for Germany.
Brussels is currently negotiating such an agreement with Beijing, with the aim of giving EU investors better protection in China. Germany wants to conclude the agreement by the end of the year, but Altmaier stressed that “the European Union will not conclude an investment agreement at any price.”
For the EU to accept the agreement, “it must also take our trade policy ideas very much into account. This includes a level playing field, which means fair access to the respective markets,” Altmaier said, but made it clear that Berlin I would. Do not give up the agreement on human rights concerns.
In fact, Germany’s main concern with China’s new national security law appears to be the effect it will have on its business, rather than on freedom of expression. When asked if he was concerned about the extraterritorial scope of the law, which in theory points to criticism from China even abroad, Altmaier said he wanted to make sure that this would not affect German companies.
“I have already decided that I will soon hold a video conference with representatives of German companies in Hong Kong to ensure that employees of these companies do not experience these events,” he said, referring to the new law.
“And by this I mean not only German citizens but also employees of German companies, regardless of their nationality.”
