Sino-German economic partnership stays firm

Over the more than five decades since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has continued to deepen.

Germany has long been China's largest trading partner in Europe and its largest European source of foreign investment. Industries on both sides are intertwined, laying a foundation for bilateral cooperation.

The numbers bear out the strength of this partnership. According to Chinese official statistics, two-way trade reached $211.1 billion in 2025, with Chinese exports at $118.3 billion and imports at $92.8 billion.

Data from the German Federal Statistical Office tells a similar story: China remained Germany's largest trading partner in the first half of 2026, with bilateral trade hitting 125.5 billion euros ($140.7 billion).

Investment activity has remained equally dynamic. Germany ranks as the European Union's biggest investor in China by both investment volume and project count. It is also a key destination for Chinese outbound investment.

A report from the German Economic Institute estimated fresh German investment into China at roughly 7 billion euros for 2025.

These sustained capital commitments reflect German companies' long-term confidence in the Chinese market. At the production site of Kern-Liebers Precision Technology (Tianjin), automated machinery churns out precision springs for high-end sectors including automotive manufacturing, medical technology and industrial automation.

In August, the 138-year-old German company completed the second-phase expansion of its Tianjin plant, adding an investment of 120 million yuan ($17.99 million) to roll out the group's cutting-edge manufacturing technologies and automation solutions for intelligent springs production.

China is not only one of the group's most vital markets, but an important center of innovative development in global manufacturing, said Erek Speckert, president and CEO of Kern-Liebers Group.

China's robust production ecosystem — anchored by complete industrial-supply chains and abundant skilled labor — has also fueled German companies' expansion plans.

Oliver Beck, global head of Innomotics' high-voltage division, explained that when mapping out their global manufacturing footprint, his team evaluated factors including local industrial capacity, talent pools, supply-chain resilience and project delivery capability.

He noted that China met all these criteria and that products manufactured in the country could serve both China's domestic market and global export demand.

Oliver Oehms, executive director and board member of the German Chamber of Commerce in China — North China, observed that over half its member enterprises intend to deepen collaboration with Chinese counterparts and boost localization across full value chains.

He described these moves as core long-term strategies for German-invested companies to entrench their market position in China.

This win-win dynamic stretches back decades. From German companies supporting the growth of China's auto industry in the early years of its reform and opening-up, to China now advancing global automotive transformation via green and digital technologies, the deep-rooted integration of the two countries' automotive sectors exemplifies the mutual benefits of Sino-German cooperation.

The two economies are highly complementary in markets, capital, research and development, raw materials and industry chains. Germany's new development strategies for technology, innovation and digitalization align with China's push for intelligent, green and integrated growth under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

There is ample scope to optimize long-standing cooperation in machinery, equipment and chemicals, while unlocking new potential in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, clean energy, embodied intelligence, biotechnology and industrial digitalization.

As a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce has noted, China welcomes German companies to seize opportunities created by the country's high-standard opening-up agenda, consolidate cooperation in traditional areas, tap the potential of emerging areas, and turn "cooperation opportunities" into tangible "cooperation outcomes".