Klingbeil has floated mandatory joint ventures for non-European companies to ensure technology transfer — a strategy China itself has used for decades to extract know-how from foreign companies seeking access to its market. A reform package introduced by the coalition in early July included such a push and other measures aimed at strengthening Germany’s economic sovereignty and resilience.
“The objective is not to cut China off from technology forever,” Tordoir said in an interview. “The objective is to show that Germany has teeth, to remind Beijing that China also has critical dependencies on Europe.
