- 2021 review and forecast with Klaus Muehlhahn
- Joint venture restriction falls for car industry
- Huawei and Seres introduce hybrid car
- Daimler reduces stake in Denza
- Risk of factory closures in Lithuania
- Japan’s government won’t attend Winter Games
- Trudeau calls for united front against China
- Record infection numbers reported this year
- Biden signs forced labor bill
- Ma Xingrui to become new party chief in Xinjiang
After Christmas and before the turn of the year, we find ourselves “between the years”. It’s a good time to reflect and assess all changes that happened over the year. In today’s interview with Finn Mayer-Kuckuk, Klaus Muehlhahn looks back on relations with China in 2021, highlighting, in particular, the new approach to trade policy. China is beginning to use supply chains as a political instrument. In China’s foreign economic policy, in particular, Xi Jinping’s mark is beginning to show more and more. China’s president is a clever strategist, says Muehlhahn, but also a very ambitious man of power. With this in mind, the sinologist sees the new year with concern. Muehlhahn warns of an “epistemic challenge“. What he exactly means by that – and how we should approach it – is the topic of today’s interview.
There is no such thing as “between the years” in China. Christmas is only celebrated in shopping malls, and the new year doesn’t start until the beginning of February. But don’t worry, the news section keeps you up to date on Huawei’s car plans, the dispute between Lithuania and China as well as Japan’s decision not to attend the Olympics.
Last but not least, I would like to draw your attention to our profile for today. It is about Ma Xingrui, who has been appointed the new party leader for Xinjiang. It is a decision that could reach far beyond the province in northwestern China: For those who prove themselves in Xinjiang have the chance to rise far up the national leadership.
Michael Radunski
Interview
‘The old rules no longer apply’
The case of Continental is currently stirring things up. For the first time, China is attacking the automotive industry of its partner nation Germany. What does that tell us?
Indeed, a new approach to trade policy is beginning to emerge here. China is now also starting to use supply chains as a political tool. Goods with preliminary products from Lithuania are to be labeled as such and are subsequently banned from sale in China. This political instrumentalization of supply chains was first used by Donald Trump on a large scale. What is new now, however, is that China is taking up this practice. China also wants to use its economic weight politically.
It also looks as if the behavior of both sides is becoming less predictable.
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