German finance minister warns against quick decoupling from China

BERLIN — Germany must reduce its dependence on China gradually as decoupling from the Chinese market would costs jobs in Europe’s biggest economy, Finance Minister Christian Lindner was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Germany is working on a new China strategy that takes a more sober view of relations and aims to reduce dependence on Asia’s economic superpower, which has been the country’s top trading partner since 2016.

“Decoupling our economy from the Chinese market would not be in the interest of jobs in Germany,” Mr. Lindner was quoted as saying by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

He said that gradually other world regions and markets would have to become more important for German business over the coming years and decades, Welt am Sonntag reported.

“The political conditions must be improved for this,” Mr. Lindner said. — Reuters