China’s support for Russia in the war against Ukraine is the main reason for the deterioration in economic relations between Berlin and Beijing, Germany Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said on Saturday.

“It is also important for China, which is supporting Russia in this war, to understand that German and European security interests are already directly affected by this conflict,” Habeck said at the opening of the German-Chinese cooperation dialog on climate change and green transformation in Beijing.

Europe and Germany wouldn’t be reducing their dependency on China for raw materials and critical goods if Beijing didn’t support Russia’s war, Habeck told Zheng Shanije, chairman of the National Reform and Development Commission. Zheng delivered the opening remarks at the event.

It’s important to understand that you can’t separate the issues and “even our direct relationship is already negatively affected,” said Habeck, who is also Germany’s economy and climate minister.

Habeck reiterated Europe’s willingness to talk to China about the tariffs imposed by the European Union on imports of Chinese e-vehicles. He emphasised that - in contrast to ones imposed by the US, Turkey and Brazil - these are not “blanket” punitive charges but differentiated compensatory tariffs that have been examined carefully for nine months.

“It’s not a punishment, it’s a compensation for the advantages granted,” Habeck said.

This measure is not comparable with targeting specific companies and blocking their access to the markets, the vice chancellor said, criticising the “wrong and dangerous” tendency toward increasing protectionism, tariffs and restrictions being imposed by some countries.

Habeck will meet with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and other officials during his three-day trip to China. He is the first senior European official to visit the Asian country since the bloc announced its plan this month for levies as high as 48% on electric vehicles shipped from there.

  - Bloomberg