BERLIN – The European Union had been struggling to negotiate an investment agreement with China for four years, facing opposition from some of its members and, increasingly, from the United States. In the end, it was German Chancellor Angela Merkel who pushed the project to the finish line last month, according to officials familiar with the talks.
After the deal was sealed on December 29 in a virtual meeting between EU leaders and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Merkel held a separate video conference with Mr. Xi and President Emmanuel Macron of France to finalize the details of an agreement that she later described. advisers as the main achievement of his last year in office.
For decades, the legacy of Germany’s Nazi past prevented the country from holding international power. Instead, its foreign policy has focused on cultivating good relations with allies and rivals to protect the exports on which its economy depends.
When Merkel leaves office later this year, few expect that to change, potentially complicating President-elect Joe Biden’s plan to build a broad front to rival China. That despite the expected election for Saturday of a new president of the Merkel Christian Democratic Union, who could ultimately replace her as chancellor, with a candidate having visibly more aggressive views than she.
Under President Trump, the U.S. prevented its allies from engaging directly with China to try to improve the terms of its economic relationship with the Asian giant. But now, just as Biden calls for a collective approach from Western democracies to China, the EU and Germany, after signing their own bilateral agreement with Beijing, are unlikely to look back.