Merz's China visit signals focus on finding synergies in manufacturing sector: economist

Source: Bastille Post

Update: Feb 27th, 2026, 5:42 PM

Germany should strike a new balance between cooperation and competition in its ties with China, while the two leading global manufacturing powerhouses should seek deeper collaboration in innovation and industrial upgrading, according to a British economist.

John Ross, a senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, gave his assessment as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrapped up a two-day official visit to China on Thursday.

Merz met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and held talks with Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Wednesday, before traveling to the eastern tech hub of Hangzhou, where he toured leading Chinese robot-maker Unitree Robotics.

The chancellor, who was accompanied by a large business delegation, including top executives from 30 German firms, was given a robot boxing demonstration, and viewed a live performance of a segment of the dynamic robot martial arts display that featured during the 2026 China Media Group Spring Festival Gala, broadcast on the eve of the Chinese New Year.

In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Ross said Merz's visit signals a focus on cooperation in the high-end manufacturing sector, with both sides looking to explore potential collaborations amid an ongoing shift in these fast-changing industries.

"Germany is the most advanced manufacturing country in Europe, in fact one of the most advanced in the world. China has taken a very important position on the development of robots. You now have the general automation of industry, the famous dark factories in China in which you don't have any human beings operating and robots are an extension of that. This is an area in which Germany would like to maintain its manufacturing lead. The traditional situation between China and Germany was that Germany exported high-value machine tools and capital equipment to China, and China exported consumer goods to Germany. Now that's changed because of China's economic development," he said.

Ross pointed out that while China has overtaken three G7 countries— Canada, France, and Italy—in research and development spending as a percentage of GDP, a key indicator of innovation potential, it still lags behind Germany.

While noting that Merz was looking to gain first-hand insights into China's high-tech prowess with his visit to Unitree Robotics, Ross said both sides should aim to balance cooperation and competition while recognizing the synergies between Germany's manufacturing core and China's industrial power.

"I'm sure that what Merz will be looking for is the potential for cooperation and also competition between the two countries and having seen the robot development in China, this is very spectacular. The things which catch the attention are things like performing on the Spring Festival [Gala] show and doing acrobatics and things like that. But actually in terms of production, the most impressive [aspect] of course is the role of robots actually in production. I'm sure he (Merz) wants Germany to learn both how to compete and how to cooperate in this area. It shows that Germany is not de-industrializing -- Germany's perspective is still to maintain itself as the manufacturing core of Europe, and China is the biggest manufacturing power in the world. So Merz will be wanting to look at what are the synergies between the two," he said.