The state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua leaves no room for doubt: Every new government in Germany will have to work closely with China. Xinhua writes that in view of the expected global upheavals, a stable axis between Beijing and Berlin is needed. As if to underline this claim, the Chinese state shipping company Cosco announced completion of the entry of the Chinese into the Tollerort container terminal of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA). With 35 percent, Cosco will have a significant say in this development. In addition to all ideological conflicts with the West, China has stayed on course in terms of economic policy. Beijing’s long arm now controls the international supply chains in Europe from Piraeus in Greece to northern Germany.
China is about free travel for the New Silk Road, which is supported by Germany. In this context, the Guardian points to a tacit U-turn under Angela Merkel. The Chancellor first warned about human rights in China, then received the Dalai Lama and then went on a cuddle course with Beijing. The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is convinced that this path cannot be continued with the next coalition: China is not a partner, but a rival for German industry. It is important for the German economy to “gradually” break away from the close relationship. Before the election, the ECFR put its hope in Annalena Baerbock, referring to her statement in an interview with the FAZ that “Germany should not surrender to China”.
Foreign Policy, the magazine of the US intelligence community sees a different star in the political sky: “The next big player in the world economy is Christian Lindner”, writes the paper and justifies this apotheosis with the fact that Lindner will probably become finance minister under any constellation could – and thus “Vice Chancellor” of Germany. The power of this position lies in the fact that the finance minister represents Germany in important international organizations such as the Eurogroup, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, on the other hand, expects French President Emmanuel Macron to be the winner of the post-Merkel era.
Bloomberg also sees this possibility and points to the fact that none of Merkel’s successors have any knowledge of Franco-German relations. In any case, Paris is likely to pursue an agenda: In Le Monde, Götz praises Aly Merkel for standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the conflicts in Ukraine and Crimea. Moscow has other worries: The Russian state news agency Tass quotes parliamentary speaker Konstantin Kosachew, who expresses fears that an entry by the Greens could endanger the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – because of the expected continued pressure from Washington.