Merkel's pragmatism key to sound German-China and EU-China ties

Both Germany and the European Union (EU) are heading toward the post-Merkel era as the long-serving German Chancellor Angela Merkel officially handed over power to her successor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday. During Merkel's 16-year tenure as chancellor, Germany and the EU have forged constructive partnerships with China, thanks largely to the chancellor's crucial role. As Merkel steps down, the partnerships now face greater uncertainties. It is imperative to assess Merkel's political legacy at this critical juncture to make the hard-won partnerships persist.

After serving as chancellor for more than a decade and a half, Merkel has been named one of the most influential and respected world leaders. According to a recent survey by Pew Research Center, Merkel has enjoyed more confidence from global publics than have most other leaders, including Emmanuel Macron of France and Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom. Favorable views of Merkel, as the survey suggests, are mainly influenced by perceptions of the chancellor's practical measures to promote Germany's economic growth.

Indeed, thanks to her pragmatism and adherence to rationality, Merkel has steered Germany through a string of domestic and particularly foreign crises, notably the European sovereign debt crisis in 2010 and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This explains why the chancellor receives largely favorable views from across 16 advanced economies, as shown in the same Pew survey.

Germany again faces a growing number of challenges, including the pandemic and climate change, among others. So does the EU. To address these daunting challenges, both Germany and the EU should adopt similar pragmatic approaches to those of Merkel. During Merkel's chancellery, Germany and the EU boosted their strategic autonomy and no longer necessarily relied on the US. They also deepened cooperation with China on the base of mutually beneficial cooperation.

But it remains unknown whether and to what extent the center-left Social Democrat (SPD)-led German coalition government will continue Merkel's legacy of pragmatism. Dubbed as the "traffic light" coalition due to the colors of the three political parties involved: red for the SPD, yellow for the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), and green for the environment Green Party (Greens), the ruling alliance's future should not be expected to be "plain sailing."

The key reason lies in the three parties' different and even conflicting policy preferences. For example, the Greens, whose co-leader Annalena Baerbock will be the new government's foreign minister, have argued strongly for a foreign policy "guided by human rights and values," with which the more pragmatic SPD may disagree. Besides, the FDP is very likely to block some social projects proposed by its coalition partners in the SPD and the Greens.

Chances are that the coming years will witness a dramatic change, if not a reverse, in Germany's China policy as the Greens are committed to adopting a tougher policy – largely following in the footsteps of the United States. As indicated by the coalition agreement text unveiled in late November, the new government is very likely to intervene into China's internal affairs in the name of protecting human rights in relation to Taiwan, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong.

As Europe's largest economy, Germany has long been the leading member state in the EU and plays a vital role in guiding EU-China relations. In this case, Germany's tougher China policy would "add fuel to the fire" of the EU-China strategic partnership, which is already caught in uncertainty due to some EU member states' meddling in China's domestic issues. Lithuania's recent decision to allow the Taiwan region to set up a "representative office" in its capital has resulted into the downgrading of its diplomatic relations with China. Policy measures adopted by the Greens and Lithuania contribute to rising tensions with China and fail to serve their national interests.

Merkel's political legacy provides a remedy for German and EU to overcome challenges by sustaining a sound relationship with China in the post-Merkel era in which they face a number of tricky issues. Coordination and cooperation with China would facilitate Germany and other EU member states' handling of these critical issues, be it the pandemic or climate change. Furthermore, closer economic ties with China could also help bring more real benefits, enabling the EU and its member states to tackle challenges more efficiently.

In other words, sound German-China and EU-China relations are a win-win solution. But the "traffic light" coalition government must make its China policy in a pragmatic manner. It should continue constructive dialogues and communications with China based on mutual interest rather than the alleged human rights and value. This is the first and most crucial step to ensuring that the constructive German-China and EU-China relations, which are in the interests of the nations and their people, will persist.

The author is assistant professor at School of International Studies, Nanjing University and former Asia Fellow at John F. Kennedy School, Harvard University. He writes extensively on comparative politics and international relations, with an emphasis on the Taiwan issue and China-US relations.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.

If you have a specific expertise and would like to contribute to China Daily, please contact us at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn , and comment@chinadaily.com.cn