German Parliament Launches Commission to Assess Economic Ties with China

Berlin – The German Bundestag has established a commission tasked with evaluating the security implications of economic relations between Germany and China. The commission held its inaugural meeting on Thursday afternoon, chaired by Christian von Stetten, Chairman of the Committee for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Commission Composition and Expertise

The commission comprises 13 members representing a diverse range of organizations, including associations, research institutes and trade unions. The members, listed in alphabetical order by organization, are:

• Alliance of Scientific Organizations: Professor Dr. Thomas Lengauer, Vice President of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• Bertelsmann Foundation: Dr. Cora Jungbluth, Senior Expert China and Asia Pacific of the Europe Program
• Federal Association of German Industry (BDI): Friedolin Strack, Co-Head of International Affairs (BDI) and Spokesperson for the Management of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business (APA)
• German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP): Michael Laha, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics and Technology
• German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK): Dr. Volker Treier, head of foreign trade and member of the main management team
• German Institute for Standardization (DIN): Dr. Michael Stephan, member of the DIN management board, International Affairs division
• German Trade Union Confederation (DGB): Frederik Moch, Head of the Structural, Industrial and Service Policy Department
• Institute of the German Economy Cologne (IW): Jürgen Matthes, head of the topic cluster international economic policy, financial and real estate markets
• Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel): Professor Dr. Julian Hinz, Professor of International Economics, Bielefeld University, Head of the Trade Policy Research Center at IfW Kiel
• Leibniz Center for European Economic Research: Professor Dr. Bettina Peters, Deputy Head of the Research Department of Innovation Economics and Corporate Dynamics
• Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS): Dr. Mikko Huotari, Director of MERICS
• Science and Politics Foundation (SWP): Dr. Nadine Godehardt, Senior Associate in the Asia Research Group, SWP Brussels
• The International Institute for Strategic Studies Europe (IISS-Europe): Dr. Ben Schreer, head of IISS-Europe’s Berlin office, responsible for defense, technology and future conflicts

Commission Mandate and Objectives

The commission’s primary objective is to assess the extent of Germany’s economic dependence on China, particularly concerning energy and raw material imports, and technologies critical to economic and security policy. According to the Bundestag, the commission will achieve this through:

• Conducting public hearings with experts, stakeholders, and affected parties.
• Obtaining scientific expertise and reports.
• Commissioning research contracts.

Reporting and Oversight

The expert committee will submit its findings and recommendations to the Bundestag annually in written form. It will also provide the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy with updates on its progress every six months. Christian von Stetten, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has represented the constituency of Schwäbisch Hall-Hohenlohe in the Bundestag since 2002, succeeded his father Wolfgang von Stetten in the role.