Shortly before Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) was set to travel to China, Rhineland‑Palatinate premier Alexander Schweitzer (SPD) warned against too much economic isolation from the People’s Republic. Speaking to “Handelsblatt”, he said, “China is an important trade partner” adding that without access to Chinese markets German products would not reach the world. “German trade policy should open markets, not shut them off” he argued.
Rather than deploying measures aimed specifically at China, Schweitzer advocated a “Buy‑European” strategy and defended the EU Commission’s controversial proposals. “Setting requirements or quotas in production chains is the right approach” he said, noting that it represents a somewhat protectionist counter‑measure to the anti‑protectionism the EU faces. He termed these steps a form of self‑defence, saying, “We can’t cling to old world‑trade ideals while the world around us attacks us. We are in the midst of an economic survival struggle”.