【By Observer Net, Yuan Jiaqi】

According to Reuters, on Wednesday, Lars Klingbeil, the German finance minister and vice chancellor, as well as chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), continued to hype up the so-called "unfair competition" during his visit to China. He claimed that if there are subsidy practices in related industries, the EU market must be protected.

The report said that Klingbeil mentioned the challenges faced by European steel producers and the EU's proposal to impose new tariffs on imported products, including from China, under the pretext of protecting the domestic steel industry.

"I support free and open markets, but I don't want Europe and Germany to end up as losers," Klingbeil complained to Reuters again, saying that Chinese steel products benefit from state support. "I don't want to see the German steel industry suffer as a result." He added that the German steel industry is currently developing well and is moving towards carbon neutrality.

When asked whether the EU plans to take a tougher stance against China, Klingbeil claimed that issues concerning China are increasingly important in the meetings of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and the Eurogroup, and the EU should "show a united front to China."

The report pointed out that Germany has been taking actions against China recently. This month, the German parliament first appointed an expert committee to re-examine Germany's trade policy toward China; shortly after, Chancellor Merkel declared that Huawei and other Chinese suppliers should be completely excluded from the country's 6G network construction, while planning to replace components in the current 5G network with domestically produced products.

Klingbeil defended this move, saying, "All suppliers are subject to the same standards, which relates to security issues." He also said, "I also see that German and European companies are facing economic opportunities, and I believe this will help strengthen these companies."

On November 6th local time, the German government held a "Steel Summit", where Klingbeil (left) met with Merkel. Oriental IC

As the first minister of Merkel's cabinet to visit China, Klingbeil previously stated that this trip aims to strengthen commercial ties with China, ease trade tensions, and address concerns of German companies regarding the so-called "Chinese overcapacity."

Regarding the recent frequent discussions by US and European countries about the "overcapacity" issue, the Chinese side has repeatedly refuted it. In July this year, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jianjun reiterated that the claim of "Chinese overcapacity" is essentially a one-sided understanding of market supply and demand relationships in the context of economic globalization, and is an excuse for protectionist measures.

According to the report, during this visit to China, the German side also explained other priority issues such as restrictions on rare earths. Klingbeil also repeatedly mentioned the Ukraine issue and repeated the clichés such as "China needs to take responsibility" and "the only one who can persuade Putin is China."

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Klingbeil said a few days ago that he was satisfied with the results of this visit to China. He revealed that the Chinese side had "very clearly" informed him that they are willing to find common solutions to issues regarding rare earths and key raw materials, and are willing to directly communicate on related topics if tensions arise in the future.

When talking about several specific achievements that are considered to be about to be implemented, Klingbeil emphasized, "The Chinese side always keeps its promises."

On Wednesday, he also told Reuters, "When we clearly define our interests and engage in dialogue, the Chinese side is actually very welcoming."

"I think, despite many differences, competition, and confrontation, this partnership with China can still function well," Klingbeil added.

Germany's Die Zeit Weekly noted that this is Klingbeil's eighth visit to China and his first visit to China as a member of Merkel's cabinet. It is reported that the delegation included the president of the German Federal Bank and representatives from several German banks and insurance companies.

Klingbeil said that all the schedules of this visit to China will be closely coordinated with the upcoming visit to China by Merkel.

Germany is the largest economy in Europe, while China is the largest economy in Asia, and this year has once again become Germany's largest trading partner.

According to preliminary statistics from the German government, in the first eight months of this year, China replaced the United States as Germany's largest trading partner. The trade volume between Germany and China reached 163.4 billion euros, slightly higher than the 162.8 billion euros between Germany and the United States. The main reason for the change is that the U.S. restarted tariff policies, leading to a decline in Germany's exports to the U.S., while Germany's imports from China have significantly increased. Germany's economy has been in its third year of contraction.

It is worth noting that previously, the German foreign minister, Wang Defu, temporarily canceled his visit to China, causing widespread concern. At that time, Sino-European trade relations were tense due to events such as rare earths and NXP Semiconductor, and the German society worried about further damage to the country's economy. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post earlier reported that the Merkel government decided to send Klingbeil to deal with the "mess."

Bernhard Bartsch, an analyst at Berlin's Mercator Institute, known as Europe's largest "China Research Center," said when discussing this matter, "Klingbeil's visit to China proceeded smoothly according to plan, without the tension seen in the cancellation of Waid Fu's trip, which is a positive signal."

According to Xinhua News Agency, on November 17, the fourth China-Germany Senior-Level Financial Dialogue was held in Beijing. According to the joint statement, the two sides reached 27 consensuses, including strengthening macroeconomic policy coordination, enhancing cooperation in financial and economic areas, and jointly improving international economic governance.

During the dialogue, both sides reaffirmed that this dialogue mechanism is an important platform for bilateral communication and policy coordination on strategic, comprehensive, and long-term issues in the financial and economic field between China and Germany. It is understood that the first China-Germany Senior-Level Financial Dialogue was held in Berlin in 2015, reaching 21 consensuses. The second and third China-Germany Senior-Level Financial Dialogues held in 2019 and 2023 respectively achieved multiple mutually beneficial and win-win results.

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