berlin brief

Have you heard the news? Germany is lagging behind China.

“China to overtake Germany as world’s leading exporter”, the FT reported at the weekend.

For many years Germans have prided themselves on the title  of the “Exportweltmeister” (world champion in exports). “Made in Germany”.

What a day for the German psyche.

Read more:

“China Dethrones Germany as Top Goods Exporter” (Wall Street Journal, 6 January 2010).

“The New Weltmeister: China Upsets Germany as Leading Export Nation” (Spiegel Online International, 6 January 2010).

I happened to see the long cavalcade of the Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping driving by on Unter den Linden boulevard in Berlin at the weekend. Xi Jinping is visiting Germany on the occasion of the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair) that was opened today by Chancellor Angela Merkel. China is this year’s controversial guest of honour.

I thought this would be a good moment to list a few articles around the Book Fair controversy and recent German-Chinese relations. (more…)