German Bosses Defy Scholz’s Plea to Shift Away From China
- BASF, Siemens and VW are shrugging off political concerns
- Decoupling from the market is ‘unthinkable,’ Mercedes CEO says
Olaf Scholz at the Group of Seven leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 21.
Photographer: Louise Delmotte/AP Photo/Bloomberg
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is pushing to reduce Germany’s dependence on China, but bosses from some the country’s biggest companies are pushing back.
Leaders from BASF SE and Mercedes-Benz AG to Siemens AG and Volkswagen AG are seeking to separate business interests from political concerns heightened by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which exposed Germany’s dangerous reliance on Russian energy. Links to China go even deeper.