Germany’s national security strategy ‘no surprise to China’ after Berlin echoes EU in warning of ‘systemic rivalry’
- The document reflects the current debate within Berlin, which favours ‘de-risking’ rather than decoupling, Chinese observers say
- The biggest concern for Beijing may be how the strategy is implemented and the possibility of an overreaction
The strategy, which mentioned China six times, also accused Beijing of seeking to reshape the current international order and using its economic might to achieve political goals.
The 75-page document, aims to address external threats ranging from climate change to supply chain disruptions, and describes the trading relationship with the country as the most important of its kind, but also describes China as “a partner, competitor and systemic rival”.
The language is similar to that already adopted by the European Union, which has already labelled China a “systemic rival”. At the time Beijing insisted it was not a threat to Europe.
The German strategy, commissioned after Russia invaded Ukraine, says that economic dependency in critical areas could “quickly evolve into significant security risks” and highlights the increasing priority placed on geopolitics over economic gain.