Everyone agrees on one thing: Germany is in urgent need of more China expertise. This is what we hear from the business community and companies, and this is what the German government’s “Strategy on China” drafted by the Federal Foreign Office says. The problem: Although China expertise is demanded everywhere, it is hardly ever promoted.
Now, the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD is sounding the alarm. When it comes to China expertise, Germany is losing out. Tim Gabel has taken a close look at the DAAD’s assessment. The findings should be a warning signal to everyone. Because the consequences of this development are already apparent: In terms of science and research, China is mercilessly leaving Germany in the dust.
Taiwan shows just how important first-class research and technology are. Here, too, the imbalance with China is enormous – in military terms. However, Taiwan compensates for this disadvantage with its advanced semiconductor industry. This makes Taiwan an indispensable international (trade) partner.
This also makes Taiwan indispensable for Germany. How exactly, explains Wan-Hsin Liu in an interview with Finn Mayer-Kuckuk. Liu from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy cites the German Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Government’s diversification strategy to reduce Germany’s dependence on China. Above all, she believes Taiwan is crucial for Germany’s long-term digital and green transformation.
Germany’s academic system is about to completely fail when it comes to maintaining and developing expertise in China. This is the slightly exaggerated diagnosis of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which published new recommendations for academic cooperation with China on Monday. These recommendations are intended as guidelines for universities, but the preceding analysis of German-Chinese university and academic cooperation is particularly alarming.
It found that only 120 German academics and researchers visited China in 2021. This figure, compiled by the DAAD and the German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), represents a decrease of almost 83 percent compared to 2015. The fact that Chinese universities had isolated themselves from the outside world for several years due to the implementation of zero-Covid puts this figure into perspective. Nevertheless, according to the DAAD, the mobility statistics for German students and researchers are showing a clear downward trend. “Forecasts also show that the figures will only recover slowly in the coming years despite the lifting of Coronavirus restrictions,” the paper states.
As a scientific nation, Germany cannot have any interest in academic “de-coupling,” writes the DAAD. “The decline in cooperation and mobility figures described above is cause for concern, not only with regard to the medium and long-term development of China expertise in Germany,” it says. This is particularly true because China’s interest in cooperation with Germany is unbroken, and the country’s importance as a scientific nation has grown considerably in recent years. The DAAD sees a risk of lopsided relations here.
Driven by the Communist Party’s openly stated ambition to make China a global leader by 2050, the state massively subsidizes science and research. At an investment level of 424 billion euros, the country ranks second behind the United States (660 billion euros) and well ahead of Germany (148 billion euros). In its analysis, the DAAD explains the consequences of this: In terms of the number of universities, China will soon overtake the European Union and the number of graduates is already twice as high as in the EU. According to a cited Georgetown University analysis, the number of STEM graduates in 2025 will be twice as high as in the USA.
However, the DAAD says that the Chinese government is not only aiming for an increase in quantity but also to improve the quality of its universities and its own innovative strength. In 2023, eleven Chinese universities were in the top 100 of the “Shanghai Ranking” and seven universities were in the top 100 of the THE World University Ranking. A similar trend can also be observed in scientific articles. According to the DAAD, the People’s Republic’s scientific influence and research strength will increase accordingly.
In view of this development, DAAD President Joybrato Mukherjee calls for a more comprehensive exchange within the scientific community in Germany on scientific interests, the expansion of existing China expertise at universities and secure funding for the establishment and further development of the necessary processes. “The China expertise rightly called for in the Federal Government’s strategy must be consistently expanded. This should preferably be done using our own resources and in independent structures,” says Mukherjee.
This is the only way Germany and the German academic system will succeed in “safeguarding their own interests in the joint generation of knowledge, maintaining access to Chinese institutions as important stakeholders in the international academic system and assessing and avoiding risks in a well-founded manner,” said the DAAD President in a statement. In a German interview with Table.In late 2023, he had explicitly called for the Confucius Institutes funded by China to be converted into publicly funded institutes for developing China expertise. He criticized the German government for not backing its China strategy with money. However, he also emphasized that the primary funding of universities is a matter of the federal states.
In its analysis, the DAAD once again highlighted the potential risks. While China achieves and, in some cases, exceeds international standards in higher education and science, clear systemic differences are becoming apparent in many areas of society, which China also stopped trying to conceal. The challenges in the higher education sector include the close civil-military entanglement and power-political anchoring of Chinese academia, the centralized control and monitoring of the academic system and the lack of freedom in research and teaching.
The DAAD recommendation paper published on Monday derives three general guiding principles for universities in Germany when interacting with partners in China: It should be interest-oriented, risk-reflective and competence-based. The paper contains five specific recommendations for implementing this approach at universities for each guiding principle.
What role could Taiwan play in Germany’s diversification plans?
As a major high-tech hub, Taiwan can play a very crucial role in the diversification strategy. The high-tech know-how and cutting-edge development and manufacturing capabilities of Taiwanese companies and talents, especially in AI semiconductors, are essential for ensuring the supply of core elements and products crucial to the long-term digital and green transformation in the world and also in Germany. Germany and the EU should, therefore, now examine more intensively than ever how to strategically involve Taiwan more in their diversification efforts as a trading partner.
By subsidizing TSMC investments in Dresden, Germany also aims to reduce the risks in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Is de-risking of Taiwanese goods deliveries also sensible?
I can understand Germany’s intention regarding the TSMC subsidies. However, reducing supply risks with such support is only temporary, short-term and very limited. Taiwan’s role as an almost unrivaled technology leader in the production of cutting-edge AI semiconductors cannot be easily substituted. From a risk perspective, turning away from Taiwan as a trading partner is expedient. There would even be greater risks if Germany and the EU were to decide on a diversification strategy due to the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, which would also greatly weaken Taiwan’s relevance in their supply chains.
It seems difficult to strike a balance between the advantages of the status quo and greater security in the event of a crisis.
If Germany and the EU were to turn away from Taiwan as a trading partner, they would lose technological and economic potential, particularly in the electronics industry. This would also further complicate European and German efforts to reduce critical economic dependencies on China. Their dependencies on China could even increase further if, in an extreme case, Taiwan is isolated from the global economy and has to move even closer to China economically. Moreover, Taiwan’s democratic institutions and rule of law, which have been built up over decades, could be jeopardized. The danger for Taiwan and thus for peaceful coexistence in the global economy would also increase. As you can see, the disadvantages of turning away from Taiwan clearly outweigh the advantages.
How do you see the long-term prospects for relations across the Taiwan Strait?
Tensions in the Taiwan Strait are unlikely to ease in the long term. In his New Year’s speech, China’s head of state, Xi Jinping, once again declared reunification with Taiwan to be a historical necessity. In order to achieve this goal, Beijing emphasized that it would never pledge to refrain from the use of force. On top of this comes the increasingly intense technological rivalry between China and the USA, in which Taiwan plays an extremely important role, especially due to its strength in critical technology fields such as semiconductors, including for AI applications.
Wan-Hsin Liu is a Senior Researcher at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) and coordinator of the Kiel Center for Globalization. Her research focuses on international trade, innovation, globalization and supply chains.
Switzerland and China signed a declaration on deepening their partnership during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Bern on Monday. In addition to economic issues such as the expansion of the Sino-Swiss free trade agreement, other topics on the agenda included climate change, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East.
On Monday, President Viola Amherd received China’s Premier with military honors at a country estate near Bern. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao also participated in the talks.
China also granted Switzerland unilateral visa-free treatment, as was reported after the meeting. Switzerland will allow more visa facilitation for Chinese citizens and companies.
Alongside Iceland, Switzerland is the only European country to have signed a free trade agreement with China. China is Switzerland’s third-largest trading partner after the European Union and the United States. Li is the highest-ranking Chinese politician to visit the Alpine republic since President Xi Jinping’s visit in 2017. He met with President Amherd before traveling to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Li is expected to speak there on Tuesday. rtr/ari
The Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, has announced plans to deepen relations with Egypt. Bilateral cooperation will reach a new level, Wang said in Cairo on Sunday, according to the Chinese foreign broadcaster CGTN. Egypt is one of the six countries that will join China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa as new members of the BRICS economic bloc this year.
Egypt was the first stop for China’s top diplomat on his Africa tour, which began last Friday. Until January 18, Foreign Minister Wang plans to visit Tunisia as well as Togo and the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
The Chinese and Egyptian foreign ministers also discussed the war in the Middle East and called for a full ceasefire in a joint statement. The government in Cairo plays an important mediating role in the conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.
The war in the Middle East now also has an impact on international maritime trade. Wang and Shukri appealed to the international community to work towards easing tensions so that the sea route in the Red Sea can be safely used again.
China is now heavily active in Egypt’s ports and has been investing more in the country for several years. According to a report by the American Middle East Institute, China’s investments in Egypt increased by 317 percent between 2017 and 2022. lcw
Whenever Lauren Johnston looked at a map of the world as a child, Australia was in the center. From her home in Melbourne, the nearest continent was Asia. Europe, on the other hand, was far away. She grew up in a Westernized country whose perspective was very different from that of other Western countries. Especially when it came to Asia: In her eyes, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea and China were not exotic vacation destinations, but exciting booming regions with impressive growth stories.
Today, the Australian native lives on the other side of the world from her home: in Berlin. However, she is still an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney’s Center for Chinese Studies. Her areas of expertise include Sino-African relations and China’s demographic development.
Back in her school days, Lauren Johnston had already taken an interest in business. And she was drawn to China. Lauren felt that the economic development of the People’s Republic would probably be more exciting in the coming decades than that of any other Asian country. That is why she enrolled in the University of Melbourne to study Chinese alongside economics and spent a year abroad in Beijing – a city in which she would later live for more than eight years.
However, Lauren’s first career stops took her to other countries, and in her 20s, she lived on every continent. She is interested in different cultures. After graduating from the University of Melbourne and the renowned School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) London, she moved to South America as part of a fellowship for the London Overseas Development Institute – to the Ministry of Finance in Guyana.
She was then sent to Sierra Leone, which had just overcome a decade of civil war – a country where she immediately felt at home and which sparked her interest in Africa. But even here, she felt the presence of China. Her office in Freetown was located in a ministerial complex built by China, which had just become active in the war-torn country with several development projects. A job for the World Economic Forum then took her to Geneva, and later, she ended up in Washington at the World Bank. There, she worked as a China-Africa consultant.
Drawing a connection between China and Africa became one of the focal points of Lauren’s research. She earned her Ph.D. on the subject of China and Africa at Peking University. While this was still a niche topic in the 2000s, this was not the case when she earned her doctorate in early 2013 – the year Xi Jinping launched his Belt and Road Initiative.
She found that China and Africa could be linked in many areas. Asia, a booming continent with a young demographic, has now aged and is trying to move up the value chain. In some countries, the population is even declining. After Southeast Asia and South Asia, Africa is now the next “young” continent. For China, Africa thus offers a new growth market for its consumer goods companies and mostly state-owned infrastructure giants, whose growth prospects are slowing down at home.
At the same time, some of the major development issues that China faces today could also affect Africa in the future. African countries that learn from China’s experience and develop clear political guidelines based on this could better develop their economic and demographic potential, Lauren Johnston says.
“China is old before it becomes rich” – this much-quoted statement, which originates from China, describes another focus of Lauren’s China-Africa research: China’s demographic challenge. Due to the one-child policy, China’s young population is rapidly declining – the country’s prosperity is insufficient for an aging society. This challenge was initially seen as uniquely Chinese, but it is not, argues Johnston.
In most developing countries, the population measured by per capita income is aging earlier today than in the past, says Lauren – even without the one-child policy. This means China is not facing an extraordinary challenge, but rather a new norm.
China’s low birth rate means that the younger generation is small. However, the younger generation in China is significantly more educated and wealthier than their parents. China intends to use the shift from quantity to quality to maintain the huge number of pensioners and continue the country’s development by increasing productivity. Lauren Johnston is also closely following this.
So, anyone who expects China to stagnate as a result is mistaken, she says. Pensioners in China cost much less than their peers in Japan or Europe because they usually only receive low social benefits and basic healthcare. This puts China in an advantageous position compared to Japan or Europe, with their expensive social security systems. The reason is that China sets its priorities differently, says Johnston: It invests more in research, technological development, and its economic future than its older population.
Germany has been the center of her life for a few years now. She first moved to the country for a position at the Merics Institute. This was followed by a position as a research associate at SOAS London and later at the South African Institute of International Affairs. In addition to her position as Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, she is currently a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute for International Trade at the University of Adelaide. In other words, her life continues to take place on several continents simultaneously. This enriches her research with many different perspectives. Julia Fiedler
“Dajia hao!” This photo of a friendly seal was taken a few days ago by the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong 2, which is currently on an Antarctic expedition in the Amundsen Sea. The expedition aims to gain insights into the marine hydrology, climate and biological cycles of the Antarctic. China also wants to establish itself as a polar power with the research diplomacy of its “snow dragon.” Global warming is making parts of the polar seas navigable for the first time. The Antarctic also contains oil and gas reserves.
Everyone agrees on one thing: Germany is in urgent need of more China expertise. This is what we hear from the business community and companies, and this is what the German government’s “Strategy on China” drafted by the Federal Foreign Office says. The problem: Although China expertise is demanded everywhere, it is hardly ever promoted.
Now, the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD is sounding the alarm. When it comes to China expertise, Germany is losing out. Tim Gabel has taken a close look at the DAAD’s assessment. The findings should be a warning signal to everyone. Because the consequences of this development are already apparent: In terms of science and research, China is mercilessly leaving Germany in the dust.
Taiwan shows just how important first-class research and technology are. Here, too, the imbalance with China is enormous – in military terms. However, Taiwan compensates for this disadvantage with its advanced semiconductor industry. This makes Taiwan an indispensable international (trade) partner.
This also makes Taiwan indispensable for Germany. How exactly, explains Wan-Hsin Liu in an interview with Finn Mayer-Kuckuk. Liu from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy cites the German Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Government’s diversification strategy to reduce Germany’s dependence on China. Above all, she believes Taiwan is crucial for Germany’s long-term digital and green transformation.
Germany’s academic system is about to completely fail when it comes to maintaining and developing expertise in China. This is the slightly exaggerated diagnosis of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which published new recommendations for academic cooperation with China on Monday. These recommendations are intended as guidelines for universities, but the preceding analysis of German-Chinese university and academic cooperation is particularly alarming.
It found that only 120 German academics and researchers visited China in 2021. This figure, compiled by the DAAD and the German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), represents a decrease of almost 83 percent compared to 2015. The fact that Chinese universities had isolated themselves from the outside world for several years due to the implementation of zero-Covid puts this figure into perspective. Nevertheless, according to the DAAD, the mobility statistics for German students and researchers are showing a clear downward trend. “Forecasts also show that the figures will only recover slowly in the coming years despite the lifting of Coronavirus restrictions,” the paper states.
As a scientific nation, Germany cannot have any interest in academic “de-coupling,” writes the DAAD. “The decline in cooperation and mobility figures described above is cause for concern, not only with regard to the medium and long-term development of China expertise in Germany,” it says. This is particularly true because China’s interest in cooperation with Germany is unbroken, and the country’s importance as a scientific nation has grown considerably in recent years. The DAAD sees a risk of lopsided relations here.
Driven by the Communist Party’s openly stated ambition to make China a global leader by 2050, the state massively subsidizes science and research. At an investment level of 424 billion euros, the country ranks second behind the United States (660 billion euros) and well ahead of Germany (148 billion euros). In its analysis, the DAAD explains the consequences of this: In terms of the number of universities, China will soon overtake the European Union and the number of graduates is already twice as high as in the EU. According to a cited Georgetown University analysis, the number of STEM graduates in 2025 will be twice as high as in the USA.
However, the DAAD says that the Chinese government is not only aiming for an increase in quantity but also to improve the quality of its universities and its own innovative strength. In 2023, eleven Chinese universities were in the top 100 of the “Shanghai Ranking” and seven universities were in the top 100 of the THE World University Ranking. A similar trend can also be observed in scientific articles. According to the DAAD, the People’s Republic’s scientific influence and research strength will increase accordingly.
In view of this development, DAAD President Joybrato Mukherjee calls for a more comprehensive exchange within the scientific community in Germany on scientific interests, the expansion of existing China expertise at universities and secure funding for the establishment and further development of the necessary processes. “The China expertise rightly called for in the Federal Government’s strategy must be consistently expanded. This should preferably be done using our own resources and in independent structures,” says Mukherjee.
This is the only way Germany and the German academic system will succeed in “safeguarding their own interests in the joint generation of knowledge, maintaining access to Chinese institutions as important stakeholders in the international academic system and assessing and avoiding risks in a well-founded manner,” said the DAAD President in a statement. In a German interview with Table.In late 2023, he had explicitly called for the Confucius Institutes funded by China to be converted into publicly funded institutes for developing China expertise. He criticized the German government for not backing its China strategy with money. However, he also emphasized that the primary funding of universities is a matter of the federal states.
In its analysis, the DAAD once again highlighted the potential risks. While China achieves and, in some cases, exceeds international standards in higher education and science, clear systemic differences are becoming apparent in many areas of society, which China also stopped trying to conceal. The challenges in the higher education sector include the close civil-military entanglement and power-political anchoring of Chinese academia, the centralized control and monitoring of the academic system and the lack of freedom in research and teaching.
The DAAD recommendation paper published on Monday derives three general guiding principles for universities in Germany when interacting with partners in China: It should be interest-oriented, risk-reflective and competence-based. The paper contains five specific recommendations for implementing this approach at universities for each guiding principle.
What role could Taiwan play in Germany’s diversification plans?
As a major high-tech hub, Taiwan can play a very crucial role in the diversification strategy. The high-tech know-how and cutting-edge development and manufacturing capabilities of Taiwanese companies and talents, especially in AI semiconductors, are essential for ensuring the supply of core elements and products crucial to the long-term digital and green transformation in the world and also in Germany. Germany and the EU should, therefore, now examine more intensively than ever how to strategically involve Taiwan more in their diversification efforts as a trading partner.
By subsidizing TSMC investments in Dresden, Germany also aims to reduce the risks in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Is de-risking of Taiwanese goods deliveries also sensible?
I can understand Germany’s intention regarding the TSMC subsidies. However, reducing supply risks with such support is only temporary, short-term and very limited. Taiwan’s role as an almost unrivaled technology leader in the production of cutting-edge AI semiconductors cannot be easily substituted. From a risk perspective, turning away from Taiwan as a trading partner is expedient. There would even be greater risks if Germany and the EU were to decide on a diversification strategy due to the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, which would also greatly weaken Taiwan’s relevance in their supply chains.
It seems difficult to strike a balance between the advantages of the status quo and greater security in the event of a crisis.
If Germany and the EU were to turn away from Taiwan as a trading partner, they would lose technological and economic potential, particularly in the electronics industry. This would also further complicate European and German efforts to reduce critical economic dependencies on China. Their dependencies on China could even increase further if, in an extreme case, Taiwan is isolated from the global economy and has to move even closer to China economically. Moreover, Taiwan’s democratic institutions and rule of law, which have been built up over decades, could be jeopardized. The danger for Taiwan and thus for peaceful coexistence in the global economy would also increase. As you can see, the disadvantages of turning away from Taiwan clearly outweigh the advantages.
How do you see the long-term prospects for relations across the Taiwan Strait?
Tensions in the Taiwan Strait are unlikely to ease in the long term. In his New Year’s speech, China’s head of state, Xi Jinping, once again declared reunification with Taiwan to be a historical necessity. In order to achieve this goal, Beijing emphasized that it would never pledge to refrain from the use of force. On top of this comes the increasingly intense technological rivalry between China and the USA, in which Taiwan plays an extremely important role, especially due to its strength in critical technology fields such as semiconductors, including for AI applications.
Wan-Hsin Liu is a Senior Researcher at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) and coordinator of the Kiel Center for Globalization. Her research focuses on international trade, innovation, globalization and supply chains.
Switzerland and China signed a declaration on deepening their partnership during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Bern on Monday. In addition to economic issues such as the expansion of the Sino-Swiss free trade agreement, other topics on the agenda included climate change, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East.
On Monday, President Viola Amherd received China’s Premier with military honors at a country estate near Bern. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao also participated in the talks.
China also granted Switzerland unilateral visa-free treatment, as was reported after the meeting. Switzerland will allow more visa facilitation for Chinese citizens and companies.
Alongside Iceland, Switzerland is the only European country to have signed a free trade agreement with China. China is Switzerland’s third-largest trading partner after the European Union and the United States. Li is the highest-ranking Chinese politician to visit the Alpine republic since President Xi Jinping’s visit in 2017. He met with President Amherd before traveling to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Li is expected to speak there on Tuesday. rtr/ari
The Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, has announced plans to deepen relations with Egypt. Bilateral cooperation will reach a new level, Wang said in Cairo on Sunday, according to the Chinese foreign broadcaster CGTN. Egypt is one of the six countries that will join China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa as new members of the BRICS economic bloc this year.
Egypt was the first stop for China’s top diplomat on his Africa tour, which began last Friday. Until January 18, Foreign Minister Wang plans to visit Tunisia as well as Togo and the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
The Chinese and Egyptian foreign ministers also discussed the war in the Middle East and called for a full ceasefire in a joint statement. The government in Cairo plays an important mediating role in the conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.
The war in the Middle East now also has an impact on international maritime trade. Wang and Shukri appealed to the international community to work towards easing tensions so that the sea route in the Red Sea can be safely used again.
China is now heavily active in Egypt’s ports and has been investing more in the country for several years. According to a report by the American Middle East Institute, China’s investments in Egypt increased by 317 percent between 2017 and 2022. lcw
Whenever Lauren Johnston looked at a map of the world as a child, Australia was in the center. From her home in Melbourne, the nearest continent was Asia. Europe, on the other hand, was far away. She grew up in a Westernized country whose perspective was very different from that of other Western countries. Especially when it came to Asia: In her eyes, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea and China were not exotic vacation destinations, but exciting booming regions with impressive growth stories.
Today, the Australian native lives on the other side of the world from her home: in Berlin. However, she is still an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney’s Center for Chinese Studies. Her areas of expertise include Sino-African relations and China’s demographic development.
Back in her school days, Lauren Johnston had already taken an interest in business. And she was drawn to China. Lauren felt that the economic development of the People’s Republic would probably be more exciting in the coming decades than that of any other Asian country. That is why she enrolled in the University of Melbourne to study Chinese alongside economics and spent a year abroad in Beijing – a city in which she would later live for more than eight years.
However, Lauren’s first career stops took her to other countries, and in her 20s, she lived on every continent. She is interested in different cultures. After graduating from the University of Melbourne and the renowned School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) London, she moved to South America as part of a fellowship for the London Overseas Development Institute – to the Ministry of Finance in Guyana.
She was then sent to Sierra Leone, which had just overcome a decade of civil war – a country where she immediately felt at home and which sparked her interest in Africa. But even here, she felt the presence of China. Her office in Freetown was located in a ministerial complex built by China, which had just become active in the war-torn country with several development projects. A job for the World Economic Forum then took her to Geneva, and later, she ended up in Washington at the World Bank. There, she worked as a China-Africa consultant.
Drawing a connection between China and Africa became one of the focal points of Lauren’s research. She earned her Ph.D. on the subject of China and Africa at Peking University. While this was still a niche topic in the 2000s, this was not the case when she earned her doctorate in early 2013 – the year Xi Jinping launched his Belt and Road Initiative.
She found that China and Africa could be linked in many areas. Asia, a booming continent with a young demographic, has now aged and is trying to move up the value chain. In some countries, the population is even declining. After Southeast Asia and South Asia, Africa is now the next “young” continent. For China, Africa thus offers a new growth market for its consumer goods companies and mostly state-owned infrastructure giants, whose growth prospects are slowing down at home.
At the same time, some of the major development issues that China faces today could also affect Africa in the future. African countries that learn from China’s experience and develop clear political guidelines based on this could better develop their economic and demographic potential, Lauren Johnston says.
“China is old before it becomes rich” – this much-quoted statement, which originates from China, describes another focus of Lauren’s China-Africa research: China’s demographic challenge. Due to the one-child policy, China’s young population is rapidly declining – the country’s prosperity is insufficient for an aging society. This challenge was initially seen as uniquely Chinese, but it is not, argues Johnston.
In most developing countries, the population measured by per capita income is aging earlier today than in the past, says Lauren – even without the one-child policy. This means China is not facing an extraordinary challenge, but rather a new norm.
China’s low birth rate means that the younger generation is small. However, the younger generation in China is significantly more educated and wealthier than their parents. China intends to use the shift from quantity to quality to maintain the huge number of pensioners and continue the country’s development by increasing productivity. Lauren Johnston is also closely following this.
So, anyone who expects China to stagnate as a result is mistaken, she says. Pensioners in China cost much less than their peers in Japan or Europe because they usually only receive low social benefits and basic healthcare. This puts China in an advantageous position compared to Japan or Europe, with their expensive social security systems. The reason is that China sets its priorities differently, says Johnston: It invests more in research, technological development, and its economic future than its older population.
Germany has been the center of her life for a few years now. She first moved to the country for a position at the Merics Institute. This was followed by a position as a research associate at SOAS London and later at the South African Institute of International Affairs. In addition to her position as Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, she is currently a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute for International Trade at the University of Adelaide. In other words, her life continues to take place on several continents simultaneously. This enriches her research with many different perspectives. Julia Fiedler
“Dajia hao!” This photo of a friendly seal was taken a few days ago by the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong 2, which is currently on an Antarctic expedition in the Amundsen Sea. The expedition aims to gain insights into the marine hydrology, climate and biological cycles of the Antarctic. China also wants to establish itself as a polar power with the research diplomacy of its “snow dragon.” Global warming is making parts of the polar seas navigable for the first time. The Antarctic also contains oil and gas reserves.
