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Why Germany finds it so hard to handle China

46:46

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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. 

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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DW Berlin Briefing

From the US elections, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to evolving European security dynamics, this video podcast explores how these events impact Germany and the wider region.

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