Over the past year there has been much agonised debate in the eurozone about whether a “German Europe” is emerging from the eurozone crisis. In much of Europe the jury is still out. But for many officials and analysts in China the conclusion is clear. They see a Germany that is increasingly powerful, a France that is weakened and a UK that is marginalised.
“If you want something done in Brussels,” a Chinese official told us on a recent visit to Beijing, “you go to Berlin”.
Europe’s relationship with Beijing will largely be determined by the emerging “special relationship” between China and Germany, which was upgraded to a new level last June when Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, travelled to Berlin with 13 ministers and held a joint cabinet meeting.