German Vice-Chancellor and economy minister Robert Habeck, who is currently on a three-day India visit on Thursday said that Europe has a complicated relationship with China, which happens to be the largest trading partner of the European Union.
“China is our biggest trading partner, so a lot of German companies have invested in China. It’s a huge market and this goes the same for India and US for example,” Habeck said while speaking to the reporters here in the national capital today. The German minister said that while it was not possible to decouple with China, however de-risking ties and diversification hold importance.
“On the other side, we see that being dependent on only one market could be a risk and if we see that economic issues are not politically neutral. We see the tensions in the Pacific, we see the tensions between China and Taiwan,” Habeck said reiterating the need for diversification in present times.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event where he inaugurated the Indo-German Business Forum in Delhi, the German Vice Chancellor said, “We have noticed that China and Russia are in closer cooperation. And this means that we can’t decouple with China. Nobody wants it. But de-risking it, diversification is of the highest importance.”
On India’s stance in the Russia-Ukraine war and India not joining the price cap imposed by the Group of Seven (G7), the German Vice Chancellor said that the Russian aggression on Ukraine is unprecedented and it has changed everything in Europe.
“From the European side, the Russian aggression on Ukraine is unprecedented. It destroyed the European peace order built up after the Second World War. This is a historic event that has changed everything in Europe. Europe is a little bit away from Asia, but this is important that I urge all the democracies worldwide to be clear in language and political position that this is not acceptable,” the German minister said.
Meanwhile, on being when asked by a reporter on whether Manipur was on the agenda during his visit since the European Parliament had recently adopted a resolution on it, the German minister said it was “not on the table.”
“I think this is not on the table for me, I am discussing economic, energy and renewable energy matters,” German Vice Chancellor Habeck told reporters.
The German Vice Chancellor is accompanied by a high-ranking official and a business delegation comprising top executives of large and medium-sized German companies.
During his stay, Vice-Chancellor Habeck is expected to hold high-level meetings with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, as well as with the Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, and Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh, the German Embassy said.
Vice-Chancellor Habeck will visit several Indo-German joint ventures in Delhi and Mumbai. In Mumbai, he is also planning to engage with the Government of Maharashtra to visit a non-governmental project supporting sustainable development and to have an exchange with young Indian entrepreneurs, as per the German Embassy in India.
On the last leg of his visit, Vice-Chancellor Habeck will participate in the G20 Energy Ministers meeting in Goa.