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German exports to China fall over 12% in H1 as industrial upgrading reshapes trade structure; cooperation remains vital: expert_我的网站

A |     特约记者 张旭          　　畅游诗画里、闲居水云间。

B | 近日，刘台子满族乡招商引资项目——龙泉海滨度假村开发改造项目投入运营，从单一产业到吃住玩多元发展，丰富的旅游新场景、新业态，激活了乡村旅游“一池春水”。    

    Container ships, gantry cranes and container yards are seen at the HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai and the EUROGATE Container Terminal in Hamburg, Germany, on August 5, 2026. Photo: VCG
German exports to China fell year-on-year in the first half of 2026, pointing to a deeper restructuring of bilateral trade as China moves up the manufacturing value chain, Chinese analysts said. They also cautioned that the decline should not be read as diminishing China's importance to German businesses, given the deep economic ties and the continued benefits of cooperation for both sides.
Germany's first-half exports to China fell by more than 12 percent year-on-year to just under 37 billion euros ($43 billion), while imports from China rose 8.9 percent to 91.8 billion euros, according to data from Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) cited by Reuters on Sunday. Germany's trade deficit with China widened to about 55 billion euros from 40 billion euros a year earlier, the report said.
Reuters cited Corinne Abele, GTAI's East Asia expert, as pointing to weaker domestic demand and the fact that German companies are increasingly producing inside China.
Commerzbank economist Vincent Stamer said that China's diminishing reliance on Germany showed that the country is becoming more independent of Western powers and catching up technologically, according to Reuters.
China has continued to strengthen its capabilities in sectors including new-energy vehicles, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, enabling more products and technologies that previously depended on imports to be supplied domestically, Zhao Junjie, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.
"This means the structure of China-Germany trade is changing," Zhao said, noting that as Chinese industries move up the value chain, China's reliance on some German industrial products is declining, while Chinese companies are becoming more competitive in sectors where German manufacturers traditionally enjoyed strong advantages.
In a position paper released on July 28, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said that the rapid growth of China's modern industries is driven by innovation, with nationwide research and development (R&D) spending growing by an average of 10 percent annually during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period. 
The changing trade trend is also linked to Germany's own industrial competitiveness and policy environment, Zhao said, noting that high energy costs, demographic pressures and slower investment in some emerging technologies have weighed on the country's industrial upgrading and innovation.
At the same time, political and security considerations have increasingly shaped Germany's economic policy toward China, as Berlin has moved closer to the broader US and EU "de-risking" agenda, Zhao said. 
"Such policies can be a double-edged sword, raising costs for German companies in China and disrupting bilateral economic cooperation while seeking to pressure Chinese industries."
However, it is notable that overall China-Germany trade remained substantial. Total bilateral trade exceeded 128 billion euros in the first half, about 3 billion euros more than Germany's trade with the US, according to Reuters. 
China overtook the US as Germany's top trading partner in 2025 after US President Donald Trump launched sweeping protectionist tariffs that weighed on German exports to the US.
Falling German exports should not be seen as diminishing China's importance to German businesses, especially as bilateral ties are increasingly expanding beyond trade into investment, local production and R&D, analysts said.
German companies invested more than 7 billion euros in China in the first 11 months of 2025, up 55.5 percent from 4.5 billion euros in 2024 and 2023 and hitting a four-year high. German companies are bulking up their China business and adopting "China for China" production strategies partly to reduce exposure to possible tariffs and export restrictions, according to Reuters. 
Major German companies are also deepening their presence in China. BASF's Verbund site in Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province went fully operational in March with an investment of 8.7 billion euros, the largest single investment project wholly owned by a German enterprise in China, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
"China and Germany have developed deeply intertwined economic interests over many years," Zhao said. Rather than treating stronger Chinese industries as a reason to reduce cooperation, Germany should adapt to a relationship in which competition increasingly coexists with investment, innovation and industrial collaboration, he noted.
Recent high-level exchanges have also underscored the importance both sides attach to economic ties. During a meeting with German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche in May, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said that China and Germany are important economic and trade partners with a solid foundation, enormous potential and strong complementarity, calling on both sides to consolidate cooperation in traditional sectors and tap opportunities in emerging fields, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Reiche said that the German business community remained confident about China's economic prospects and innovation capabilities and would continue to deepen cooperation, Xinhua reported.
The two sides have also moved to strengthen institutional mechanisms. China and Germany agreed to restart the China-Germany Joint Economic Committee and establish two new working groups on trade and investment and industrial cooperation, according to the MOFCOM.
。         　　蓝天碧海、海浪涛涛，走进龙泉海滨度假村，暖居、木屋、果树、沙滩、垂钓园……一座简约而现代的庭院映入眼帘，迎着海风，嗅着果香，无论男女老少都可以在这里尽情享受休闲度假时光。         　　游客殷国春说：“海滨度假村这个地方吃喝玩乐一条龙，晚上有灯光秀和篝火晚会。住的环境也特别舒适，我和家人朋友到这里住了几天，玩得特别开心。

C | ”          　　龙泉海滨度假村开发改造项目总投资1000余万元，占地30亩，拥有6000多平方米的优质海滩浴场和可接待200人的四季餐厅，建有标准房间70间、特色木屋13间、阳光套房4间。瓜果时节，庭院中种植的杏、梨、苹果、樱桃等各类果树，可随意采摘。

D |          　　近年来，刘台子满族乡依托丰富的海洋旅游资源，积极融入“打造北方旅游胜地”建设，高品质发展休闲度假产业，在提升旅游品位上做“特”，在选择旅游项目上做“精”，守好旅游底色、突出地域文化、彰显美丽风景，形成多元化乡村旅游度假体系，满足游客多样化需求。         　　刘台子满族乡副乡长崔楠说：“刘台子满族乡着力打造京津冀休闲度假目的地，大力发展乡村旅游产业，以龙泉海滨度假村为引领，带动周边农家院等相关产业形成合力，让游客招得来、留得住，形成吃住玩一体的产业链模式，让乡村一日游变多日游，提高旅游热潮工作成效，让乡村旅游促进乡村振兴。

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Published on:22:21:42