Strategy on China in the Foreign Policy of Germany: Correlation of Values and Interests

The article addresses the preparation and context of Germany’s China Strategy. It aims to analyse a complicated process of reaching consensus in regard to China via intraparty debates in German coalition government. The authors examine China’s leadership and official reaction to the statements by German government, to the UN documents and visits and contacts of German officials with their counterparts in Taiwan and Hongkong. German government and Bundestag documents as well as those of the Federal Foreign Office were used as primary sources. The Chinese Communist Party documents, the Chinese leaders’ and foreign policy officials’ statements and speeches, the UN reports were also analysed. The authors highlight close and complicated interconnectedness between different economies in the world. All international actors are required to reach a compromise between national interests (including protection of sovereignty and security) and pragmatic goals of business development and the state of livelihoods. Consideration of counterpart’s interests, security issues and unacceptability of escalation are the conditions for achieving mutual understanding between two countries.