Exclusive | German carmakers want to compete with China but it must be a ‘fair fight’: envoy Patricia Flor

Lack of a level playing field is underlying issue of overcapacity and healthy competition will lead to innovation, Berlin’s representative in Beijing says

In a wide-ranging interview, the ambassador shares her thoughts on relations between the two countries, from differences to common ground

Reading Time:12 minutes

Patricia Flor, Germany’s ambassador to China. Photo: German Embassy, Beijing

Chow Chung-yanin Beijing,Wendy Wuin BeijingandZhuang Pinghuiin Beijing

Published: 6:00am, 13 May 2024Updated: 9:49am, 13 May 2024

Patricia Flor, German ambassador to China, talks to the Post in the wake of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s pivotal visit to China in April. The conversation delves into the spectrum of shared understandings and points of contention between the two countries, including overcapacity, Ukraine, climate change and the sensitive topic of espionage arrests.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to China generated a lot of discussion. Some said it was very successful while others criticised him for not being tough enough on issues such as the Ukraine war. What do you think both sides achieved from this trip?

We live in a very difficult geopolitical environment. It is essential that our leaders meet and discuss directly and regularly.

Although we do have differences on issues such as the Russian invasion into Ukraine or the situation in the Middle East, diplomatically, it is very much necessary to discuss and find some common messages nonetheless, which we did.

As the German government mentions in its China strategy: we want to continue cooperation with China while we also need to look at de-risking to reduce critical dependencies.

All of these go together with the chancellor’s visit, the upcoming intergovernmental consultations next year, and other intensive dialogue formats on the different fields where China and Germany interact.

It is completely normal in a democracy with free media as in Germany to have a free debate on whether the trip was successful or not.

Chow Chung-yan

Chow Chung-yan began his journalistic career at the South China Morning Post and rose to become Executive Editor in 2015, following stints at the City, China and Business desks. As the SCMP’s second-in-command, he is in charge of the China and US bureaus as well as the political economy, culture, print and digital teams. He has been running the SCMP’s day-to-day operations since 2011. He led the newsroom’s organisational restructuring, streamlined its production workflows and set up dedicated teams for both the print and digital products to facilitate the newspaper’s digital transformation. He also assembled an award-winning infographics desk and spearheaded the redesign of the newspaper. To strengthen the paper’s international coverage, he established the SCMP’s US operations in 2017 with bureaus in New York and Washington, and subsequently set up offices in Brussels and Nairobi. He has been directing the SCMP’s China coverage since 2007 to build the newspaper into one of the most important sources of information on China for global readers.

Wendy Wu

Wendy Wu joined the Post in 2015 to report on China. Her journalism career spans more than a decade, covering a range of topics including economy and diplomacy. Based in Beijing, she is China Editor of the Post, following her stint as Political Economy Editor.

Zhuang Pinghui

Based in Beijing, Zhuang Pinghui joined the Post in 2004 to report on China. She covers a range of issues including policy, healthcare, culture and society.

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Before you go

Exclusive | German carmakers want to compete with China but it must be a ‘fair fight’: envoy Patricia Flor

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Exclusive | German carmakers want to compete with China but it must be a ‘fair fight’: envoy Patricia Flor

Lack of a level playing field is underlying issue of overcapacity and healthy competition will lead to innovation, Berlin’s representative in Beijing says In a wide-ranging interview, the ambassador shares her thoughts on relations between the two countries, from differences to common ground

Chinese agency briefs German diplomats, business community on anti-espionage law

Opinion | As US-led globalisation falters, China-Europe relations can flourish

Exclusive | Why Germany’s Merz could take ‘more rational’ approach to China

Lack of a level playing field is underlying issue of overcapacity and healthy competition will lead to innovation, Berlin’s representative in Beijing says

In a wide-ranging interview, the ambassador shares her thoughts on relations between the two countries, from differences to common ground