China criticizes German call for reducing dependency on Chinese products as 'protectionism'
China has criticized a German government call for reducing dependency on Chinese products as a form of protectionism BEIJING -- China on Friday criticized a German government call for reducing dependency on Chinese products and decreasing other potentially unstable factors in bilateral relations, calling it a form of protectionism. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that a long-awaited German government strategy for relations with China that pointed to a “systemic rivalry” went “against the trend of the times, and will only aggravate divisions in the world.” Wang said the two countries were “partners rather than rivals,” a typical ruling Chinese Communist Party formulation for dismissing criticism. “We believe that to engage in com Pet ition and protectionism in the name of de-risking and reducing dependency , and to overstretch the concept of security and politicize normal cooperation will only be counterproductive and create artificial risks,” Wang told reporters at a d...