The 17th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK), which is now convening in Singapore, is groaning under tension. At first glance, it is about a strategy for the growth market in Asia. Behind the scenes, however, a power struggle is raging over China positioning and the business interests of the five major German investors, who account for a third of all direct investments from the EU in China: BASF, Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW and Siemens. They don’t feel represented by the Federation of German Industries (BDI), which takes a more critical stance towards the People’s Republic.
After the experiences with Beijing’s iron fist and the self-inflicted dependence on Russian gas, the final question is how in a more aggressive world major risks through excessive dependence can be avoided. They lurk at both ends of the trade chain: in the trust in a few suppliers, for example when purchasing rare earths or semiconductors. However, they also threaten in dependence on markets that have reached such a size that they are becoming indispensable. Both make you susceptible to blackmail. Only bad merchants hand themselves over to a market or a supplier.