Germany's foreign minister urged German companies to reduce their exposure

 

Germany's foreign minister urged German companies to reduce their exposure to China but said the country is "not pursuing a decoupling."  The comments by Annalena Baerbock, which were made at a think tank conference in Berlin, come as Germany's center-left government seeks to cut trade ties with China. The German foreign ministry released a 64-page report outlining the government's new foreign policy in relation to China on Thursday. The report said that competition with China must be "based on fair rules" and that "de-risking is urgently needed." Germany will seek to become less dependent on China in "critical sectors" like medical technology and rare minerals. It noted that Beijing "has exploited other countries' dependencies [on China] in the past," offering semiconductor manufacturing as an example.