Conflicting Images? Germany and the Rise of China

Abstract

While Germany's ‘Chinapolitik’ under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was driven by economic interests, Angela Merkel promised a normative turn in foreign policy toward China. This apparent turn became most visible in 2007 when she met with the Dalai Lama, which caused strong diplomatic protest from Beijing. This article asks whether Germany's foreign policy toward China did in fact shift under the leadership of Angela Merkel. Based on cognitive approaches, especially image theory, the perception(s) of China held by Chancellor Merkel and their impact on German foreign policy toward China are analysed. The findings suggest that the dominant image of China is that of a key trade partner on whom Germany's economy is increasingly dependent with little emphasis given to the political or normative discrepancies between the two countries. The article argues that Sino-German relations under Merkel appear to be more one-dimensional than the fall-out over the Dalai Lama issue suggests.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Felix Heiduk is Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham. He received his PhD from the Free University Berlin. Before taking up a lectureship at the University of Birmingham he worked as a research fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and as a visiting postdoc fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. His research interests lie in the field of security studies and foreign policy analysis, focusing specifically on security sector reform, civil–military relations and Germany's relations with Asian countries. He has published a number of articles in journals such as European Security or The Pacific Review, as well as one monograph.

Notes

1. ‘China: Mut zu kritischen Tönen’, Interview with Angela Merkel, ZDF, 23 May 2006. All translations are by the author.

2. Jörn-Carsten Gottwald, ‘Business as Usual: Red–Green Policies Toward Asia-Pacific’, in Hanns W. Maull (ed.), Germany's Uncertain Power (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), pp.247–59.

3. The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Transatlantic Trends 2013 (Washington, DC, 2013).

4. Pew Global Attitudes Project, America's Global Image Remains More Positive Than China's (Washington, DC, 18 July 2013).

5. Huawei Technologies Deutschland, Deutschland und China – Wahrnehmung und Realität (Berlin, 2012); Gallup, In U.S., More See China as Friend Than Foe (Washington, DC, 6 June 2013).

6. Carola Richter and Sebastian Gebauer, Die China-Berichterstattung in den deutschen Medien (Berlin: Heinrich-Böll Stiftung, 2010).

7. Bundesregierung (Federal Government of Germany), ‘Partnerschaft in Globaler Verantwortung. Gemeinsame Deutsch–Chinesische Erklärung anlässlich des Besuchs des Ministerpräsidenten der Volksrepublik China, Wen Jiabao, vom 02.05.2004′ (Berlin, 2004).

8. Bundesregierung (Federal Government of Germany), ‘Deutsch-Chinesisches Gemeinsames Kommuniqué zur umfassenden Förderung der Strategischen Partnerschaft’ (Berlin, 2010).

9. Bundesregierung (Federal Government of Germany), ‘Shaping Globalization – Expanding Partnerships – Sharing Responsibility’ (Berlin, 2012).

10. Monika Gaenssbauer, ‘“In China They Eat the Moon”: Western Images of China from the 19th to the 21st Century’, Asien 121 (2011), pp.119–29.

11. Sebastian Heilmann, Grundelemente Deutscher Chinapolitik, China Analysis No. 14 (Trier: Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies Trier University, 2002); Gottwald, ‘Business as Usual’; Thomas Heberer and Anja Senz, ‘Die Deutsche Chinapolitik’, in Thomas Jäger, Alexander Höse and Kai Oppermann (eds.), Deutsche Außenpolitik (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2011), pp.673–92; Hans Kundnani and Jonas Parello-Plesner, China and Germany: Why the Emerging Special Relationship Matters for Europe, Policy Brief 55 (London: European Council for Foreign Relations, May 2012); Eberhard Sandschneider, ‘Gestaltungsmacht China: Mit Kooperation Statt Konfrontation Zur Ko-Evolution’, Internationale Politik 2 (2012), pp.44–51; Wolfram Adolphi, ‘Vierzig Jahre? Dreimal Zwanzig! Deutsch-deutsch-chinesische Beziehungen’, Welt Trends 88 (Jan. 2013), pp.85–91.

12. J. Milliken, ‘The Study of Discourse in International Relations: A Critique of Research and Methods’, European Journal of International Relations 5/2 (June 1999), pp.225–54.

13. Richard K. Herrmann and Michael P. Fischerkeller, ‘Beyond the Enemy Image and Spiral Model: Cognitive–Strategic Research after the Cold War’, International Organization 49/3 (1995), pp.415–50; Richard Herrmann, ‘The Power of Perceptions in Foreign-Policy Decision Making: Do Views of the Soviet Union Determine the Policy Choices of American Leaders?’, American Journal of Political Science 30/4 (1 Nov. 1986), pp.841–75; Daniel Byman and Kenneth M. Pollack, ‘Let Us Now Praise Great Men: Bringing the Statesman Back In’, International Security 25/4 (2001), pp.107–46.

14. Judith Siwert-Probst, ‘Traditional Institutions of Foreign Policy’, in Wolf-Dieter Eberwein and Karl Kaiser (eds.), Germany's New Foreign Policy: Decision-Making in an Interdependent World (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001), pp.19–37.

15. Dorothee Heisenberg, ‘Merkel's EU Policy: “Kohl's Mädchen” or Interest-driven Politics?’, German Politics and Society 24/1 (2006), p.109.

16. Clay Clemens, ‘Explaining Merkel's Autonomy in the Grand Coalition: Personalisation or Party Organisation?’, German Politics 20/4 (2011), pp.469–85; Joyce Marie Mushaben, ‘Rethinking Citizenship and Identity: “What It Means to Be German” since the Fall of the Wall’, German Politics 19/1 (2010), pp.72–88; William E. Paterson, ‘Foreign Policy in the Grand Coalition’, German Politics 19/3–4 (2010), pp.497–514.

17. Interview with a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin, June 2013.

18. Jerel A. Rosati, ‘A Cognitive Approach to the Study of Foreign Policy’, in Laura Neack, Jeanne A.K. Hey and Patrick Jude Haney (eds.), Foreign Policy Analysis: Continuity and Change in Its Second Generation (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995), pp.49–70.

19. Alexander L. George, ‘The “Operational Code”: A Neglected Approach to the Study of Political Leaders and Decision-Making’, International Studies Quarterly 13/2 (1969), pp.190–222.

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21. Herrmann and Fischerkeller, ‘Beyond the Enemy Image and Spiral Model’.

22. Shannon Lindsey Blanton, ‘Images in Conflict: The Case of Ronald Reagan and El Salvador’, International Studies Quarterly 40/1 (1 March 1996), p.25.

23. Martha L. Cottam, ‘The Carter Administration's Policy toward Nicaragua: Images,, Goals, and Tactics’, Political Science Quarterly 107/1 (1 April 1992), p.126.

24. Herrmann and Fischerkeller, ‘Beyond the Enemy Image and Spiral Model’, p.425.

25. Michele G. Alexander, Shana Levin and P.J. Henry, ‘Image Theory, Social Identity, and Social Dominance: Structural Characteristics and Individual Motives Underlying International Images’, Political Psychology 26/1 (2005), p.29.

26. Herrmann and Fischerkeller, ‘Beyond the Enemy Image and Spiral Model’, p.425.

27. Ole Elgström, ‘Do Images Matter? The Making of Swedish Neutrality: 1834 and 1853′, Cooperation and Conflict 35/3 (9 Jan. 2000), p.248.

28. Blanton, ‘Images in Conflict’, p.25.

29. Margaret G. Herrmann, ‘Using Content Analysis to Study Public Figures’, in Audie Klotz and Deepa Prakash (eds.), Qualitative Methods in International Relations: A Pluralist Guide (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), pp.151–67.

30. Accessible from http://archiv.bundesregierung.de/DE/Home/home_node.html

31. Herrmann, ‘Using Content Analysis to Study Public Figures’, p.153.

32. Klaus Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology (London: SAGE, 2004), p.107; Blanton, ‘Images in Conflict’, p.30.

33. Jo Moran-Ellis et al., ‘Triangulation and Integration: Processes, Claims and Implications’, Qualitative Research 6/1 (2 Jan. 2006), pp.45–59.

34. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel MdB, Asienkongress der CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion’, Berlin, 26 Oct. 2007.

35. ‘Pressestatement von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel am 17. Juli 2010 in Xi'an’, Xi'an, 17 July 2010.

36. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel auf der Festveranstaltung “50 Jahre Bergedorfer Gesprächskreis” der Körber-Stiftung am 9. September 2011 in Berlin’, Berlin, 9 Sept. 2011.

37. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel anlässlich des 10. Deutschen Weltbankforums’, Frankfurt, 20 Nov. 2008.

38. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich des Jahrestreffens 2011 des World Economic Forum’, Davos, 28 Jan. 2011.

39. Interview with a member (Social Democrat) of the German Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, Berlin, June 2013.

40. Interview with a member (The Left) of the German Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, Berlin, June 2013.

41. ‘Pressestatement von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel nach dem Gespräch mit dem chinesischen Ministerpräsidenten Wen Jiabao’, Beijing, 16 July 2010.

42. Interview with a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin, June 2013.

43. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich ihres Besuchs des Instituts für nationale Sicherheitsstudien (Institute for National Security Studies)’, Tel Aviv, 1 Feb. 2011.

44. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel vor dem Kongress der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika’, Washington, DC, 3 Nov. 2009.

45. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich des 10. Deutschen Weltbankforums’, Frankfurt, 20 Nov. 2008.

46. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel auf dem Kolloquium “Neue Welt, neuer Kapitalismus”’, Paris, 8 Jan. 2009.

47. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel vor der Chinesischen Akademie für Sozialwissenschaften am 28. August 2007 in Peking’, Beijing, 28 Aug. 2007.

48. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel an der Stanford University’, Palo Alto, 15 April 2010.

49. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel beim G20-Business-Summit in Seoul’, Seoul, 11 Nov. 2010.

50. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel auf dem Asienkongress der CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion’, Berlin, 26 Oct. 2007.

51. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich der Veranstaltung der Stiftung Ordnungspolitik’, Freiburg, 23 Feb. 2011.

52. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel bei der Eröffnung des Deutsch-Chinesischen Wirtschaftsforums am 3. Februar 2012 in Kanton’, Kanton, 3 Feb. 2012.

53. ‘China schaut sehr interessiert auf die EU’, Interview with Angela Merkel, Die Welt, 1 Feb. 2012.

54. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel bei der offiziellen Eröffnung der Veranstaltungsreihe “Deutschland und China – Gemeinsam in Bewegung” am 28. August 2007 in Nanjing’, Nanjing, 28 Aug. 2007.

55. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich der 5. Tagung des Deutsch-Chinesischen Forums für industrielle und technologische Zusammenarbeit am 29. Januar’, Berlin, 29 Jan. 2009.

56. ‘Pressekonferenz von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel und Ministerpräsident Wen Jiabao in Peking’, Beijing, 16 July 2010.

57. Interview with a staff member of the Körber Foundation, Hamburg, June 2013; Interview with a diplomat in the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, June 2013; Interview with a member (Social Democrats) of the German Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, Berlin, June 2013; Interview with a member (Greens) of the German Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, Berlin, June 2013; Interview with a staff member, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Berlin, June 2013.

58. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich des 10. Deutschen Weltbankforums’, Frankfurt, 20 Nov. 2008.

59. ‘China schaut sehr interessiert auf die EU’, Interview with Angela Merkel, Die Welt, 1 Feb. 2012.

60. Ibid.

61. Interview with a staff member of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, June 2013.

62. Interview with a member (Liberals) of the German Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, Berlin, June 2013.

63. Interview with a staff member of the Chancellery, Berlin, June 2013.

64. ‘Die FDP ist unser bevorzugter Koalitionspartner’, Interview with Angela Merkel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 12 April 2008.

65. Interview with a staff member of the Körber Foundation, Hamburg, June 2013; Interview with a member of staff of the Chancellery, Berlin, June 2013.

66. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel beim 6. Deutsch-Chinesischen Forum für wirtschaftliche und technologische Zusammenarbeit’, Berlin, 28 June 2011.

67. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel beim Besuch der Firma Siemens Numerical Control (SNC) zum 10-jährigen Bestehen und zur Einweihung des Erweiterungsbaus am 29. August 2007 in Nanjing’, Nanjing, 29 Aug. 2007.

68. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel zur Einleitung eines Gesprächs mit Studenten des Deutsch-Chinesischen Rechtsinstituts am 28. August 2007 in Nanjing’, Nanjing, 28 Aug. 2007.

69. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich der 5. Tagung des Deutsch-Chinesischen Forums für industrielle und technologische Zusammenarbeit’, Berlin, 29 Jan. 2009.

70. Interview with a diplomat in the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, June 2013.

71. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel vor der Deutschen Handelskammer am 23. Mai 2006 in Shanghai’, Shanghai, 23 May 2006.

72. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel beim Festakt zum 60. Weltkongress des Weltdachverbandes der Unternehmerinnen “Les Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises Mondiales” am 28. September 2012 in Berlin’, Berlin, 28 Nov. 2012.

73. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel an der Stanford University’, Palo Alto, CA, 15 April 2010.

74. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel anlässlich der 5. Tagung des Deutsch-Chinesischen Forums für industrielle und technologische Zusammenarbeit’, Berlin, 29 Jan. 2009.

75. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel anlässlich des Besuchs der Chinesischen Akademie der Sozialwissenschaften (CASS) am 2. Februar 2012 in Peking’, Beijing, 2 Feb. 2012.

76. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel bei der offiziellen Eröffnung der Veranstaltungsreihe “Deutschland und China – Gemeinsam in Bewegung” am 28. August 2007 in Nanjing’, Nanjing, 28 Aug. 2007.

77. ‘Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel auf dem Hochtechnologie-Dialogforum am 22. Mai 2006 in Peking’, Beijing, 22 May 2006.

78. ‘China: Mut zu kritischen Tönen’, Interview with Angela Merkel, ZDF, 23 May 2006.

79. ‘Pressekonferenz mit Ministerpräsident Wen Jiabao’, Beijing, 22 May 2006.

80. ‘China schaut sehr interessiert auf die EU’, Interview with Angela Merkel, Die Welt, 1 Feb. 2012.

81. ‘China: Mut zu kritischen Tönen’, Interview with Angela Merkel, ZDF, 23 May 2006.

82. ‘Pressestatements von Bundeskanzlerin Merkel und dem chinesischen Premierminister Wen in Peking’, Beijing, 2 Feb. 2012; ‘China schaut sehr interessiert auf die EU’, Interview with Angela Merkel, Die Welt, 1 Feb. 2012.

83. Interview with a member (Liberals) of the German Bundestag Committee on Foreign Affairs, Berlin, June 2013.

84. Interview with a member of staff of the Chancellery, Berlin, June 2013.

85. ‘Pressestatement von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel zur Chinareise’, Kanton, 4 Feb. 2012.

86. Interview with a member of staff of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, Berlin, Aug. 2013.

87. Gottwald, ‘Business as Usual: Red-Green Policies Toward Asia-Pacific’, p.253.