BERLIN (Reuters) -The German cabinet is to pass its long-promised China strategy on Thursday, two government sources told Reuters, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government last year ordered a review of how Germany interacts with its biggest trade partner.
Scholz has repeatedly emphasised "de-risking" Germany's relationship to China, viewed by Berlin as an increasingly assertive competitor and strategic rival, thereby reducing dependencies on the country gradually rather than decoupling from the Chinese market.
The strategy was delayed for several months amid policy differences within the three-party coalition, with the Greens, which control the foreign and economy ministries, favouring more restrictive economic relations.
Among the changes under consideration are export controls, as well as the screening of investments by German companies doing business in China to protect the flow of sensitive technology and know-how.
Germany's VDMA engineering industry association released a statement on Wednesday outlining its stance on the government's forthcoming strategy.
"There must be no intervention in the export business or isolation from China," said VDMA President Karl Haeusgen.
The association said it expects the strategy to leave existing export promotion instruments in place, as well as develop strategies to diversify markets and adjust export controls.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Miranda Murray and Nick Macfie)
