The Chancellor's trip to Asia: Merz calls for closer cooperation

rtr | During his trip to Asia, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) proposed the establishment of a “global political alliance”. Its goal should be to defend, strengthen and develop rules-based trade “including the WTO,” he said in Tokyo on Wednesday. Merz had already spoken out in Singapore in favor of an EU-Asean free trade agreement and an EU rapprochement with the trans-Pacific initiative CPTPP.

On his trip to Asia, Merz is promoting a new European-Asian trade initiative. An alliance could provide political impulses and also react together “if the rules-based trading order is in danger,” he said. And one could also advance the urgently needed reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and confirm that unauthorized tariffs or coercion will be avoided.

“In dispute resolution, we could agree to recognize decisions as binding despite the current blockage of the WTO appeals body,” said Merz, alluding to the USA and China. “If the rules of the world trading system are broken by others or if economic coercion is exercised, we could coordinate in the alliance and act together.”

China's government expressed willingness to cooperate. They are determined to work with all parties, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in Beijing on Wednesday. China hopes that Germany and the European Union remain “objective and rational”.

Merz suggested Japan ‌closer industrial cooperation and ‌a joint appearance in third markets. In addition, both industrial and export nations should work together on artificial intelligence, the defense industry and the reduction of dependencies, for example in critical raw materials. Germany and Japan signed a raw materials partnership.

The background is the concern that China is restricting the export of important raw materials for high-tech products. Japan is seen in the Western world as a role model in reducing these dependencies on Beijing. In Tokyo, Merz warned again against completely decoupling from China's economy.