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Why Germany finds it so hard to handle China

December 26, 2025

2025 exposed Germany's dependence on China, as a source of rare earths and a market and production site for its industry. Berlin says it wants to "de-risk" the relationship. But is it serious? Or is it in too deep? Richard Walker sat down with experts Noah Barkin and Clifford Coonan to analyze Germany's options.

https://p.dw.com/p/55sDh

CHAPTERS: 

00:00 Intro 
01:08 Dependency diagnosis 
03:48 A long story of growth 
05:56 Raw materials 
08:31 “Liberation Day” 
13:41 Export controls 
15:38 Rare earth “general licenses”  
17:17 China's sluggish economy 
19:34 A changing relationship  
21:41 Chinese-built VW cars? 
24:07 German deindustrialization 
26:12 A German Donald Trump? 
27:43 Less welcome guests 
28:49 Detox-strategy 
31:23 Words vs. actions 
32:58 Can the EU help? 
34:23 Merz' hands-off approach 
36:38 The Taiwan contingency 
42:36 India as a substitute? 
45:10 Merz’ message to companies 
46:02 Outro 


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About the show

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DW Berlin Briefing

From Trump's victory, the German government collapse, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to evolving European security dynamics, this video podcast explores how these events impact Germany and the wider region.