Advertisement
EU-China decoupling: Volkswagen chairman Herbert Diess says Brussels needs more cooperation with Beijing
- Herbert Diess says it would be ‘very damaging if Germany or the EU wanted to decouple from China’
- Volkswagen chairman calls for cooperation, dialogue and an expansion of economic relations
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
23
Volkswagen AG’s top executive Herbert Diess has warned Europe against decoupling with China and called for more cooperation, as economic relations between major Western countries and Beijing turn sour.
The attitude of European nations towards China is particularly important at the moment, as Beijing’s tough stance on Lithuania backfired within the trade bloc, and trade tension with the United States and Australia shows no sign of abating.
“It would be very damaging if Germany or the EU wanted to decouple from China,” Diess wrote on social media platform LinkedIn on Monday.
Advertisement
“As a global company, we will never stop advocating for globalisation, a multilateral rules-based trading system and engagement.
“We need more cooperation and presence in China, not less!”
Advertisement
An attached photo showed the Volkswagen chairman taking part in a virtual dialogue with Premier Li Keqiang at a Global CEO Council summit, which was held last week and attended by top executives from nearly 30 of the world’s biggest 500 companies, including Australian miners BHP and Rio Tinto, Goldman Sachs, Daimler, Panasonic and Microsoft.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x