China will face “a very difficult year” with its major trading partner Germany as the European powerhouse is losing patience over Beijing’s slow-paced reform, the head of the German Chamber of Commerce in China (AHK) has warned.With bilateral trade exceeding US$200 billion a year – double Britain’s number and triple that of France – China and Germany have built a strong economic relationship amid turmoil in the global economy.
As China and the United States are locked in what is described as the biggest trade war in history, Berlin has so far largely remained neutral. But Jens Hildebrandt, head of the AHK, said that Beijing would face stauncher demands from Berlin and Brussels this year. German companies, which employ more than 1 million people in China, were growing increasingly impatient with the lack of systemic reforms and were fearful of the country’s economic outlook, he said.
As China and the United States are locked in what is described as the biggest trade war in history, Berlin has so far largely remained neutral. But Jens Hildebrandt, head of the AHK, said that Beijing would face stauncher demands from Berlin and Brussels this year. German companies, which employ more than 1 million people in China, were growing increasingly impatient with the lack of systemic reforms and were fearful of the country’s economic outlook, he said.
