The Shift in Engagement

• The initial phase after China joined the WTO in 2001 was rooted in the German concept of "Wandel durch Handel"—a belief that deepening trade ties would inevitably liberalize China’s political system.0:11
• By 2015, the publication of the "Made in China 2025" strategy signaled to European policymakers that Beijing was not prioritizing reciprocal growth but was instead leveraging European markets to gain strategic industrial advantages.0:46
• The 2016 acquisition of KUKA, a German robotics manufacturer, served as the peak concrete example of this perceived asymmetry, crystallizing fears over Chinese state-directed investment.1:14

Current Strategic Realities

• The 2019 EU strategic assessment formally codified a shift by classifying China as a partner, a competitor, and a systemic rival that promotes alternative governance models.
• Several distinct frictions have since accumulated, including concerns over unfair trade practices, the role of Huawei in digital infrastructure, cyber espionage, and human-rights crackdowns in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.1:38
• Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the perception has hardened; the speaker asserts that China is providing full support to Russia and that Europe now faces the risk of China weaponizing its existing trade dependencies for political coercion.1:57