Dharamshala, 25th August: China is supplying the EU with an increasing amount of high-quality goods. Beijing is looking to Germany’s economic model for inspiration. According to a report by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research, German exporters are facing rising competition in their own market from Chinese shipments to the EU. Chinese exports to the region are increasingly complex industrial goods, such as machinery, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles, which were formerly thought to be the territory of German manufacturers.
According to the survey, the share of such products in all EU imports from China increased from 50.7 percent in 2000 to 68.2 percent in 2019. The analysis was published in Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper. The figures serve as a sobering reminder to German lawmakers and businesses, who are already grappling with rising doubts about the country’s long-term economic viability. The legendary German automobile industry is grappling with the end of combustion engines and competition from Tesla, its tech industry is lagging behind European rivals, and manufacturers are concerned about the expense of the energy revolution.
At the same time, according to some commentators, China is increasingly looking to Germany’s economic model as a blueprint for future success. Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” program was inspired by Germany’s Industry 4.0 strategy, which focuses on growing manufacturing in tech areas. The latest regulatory crackdown in China has drawn comparisons to Europe’s largest economy. Others argue that China’s success in replicating Germany’s economic model will be hampered by the country’s unstable policy environment.