China criticizes German call for reducing dependency on Chinese products as ‘protectionism’

BEIJING (AP) — China has criticized a German government call for reducing dependency on Chinese products as a form of protectionism. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Friday said 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 the division of the world.” Wang said the countries were “partners rather than rivals.” That’s a typical ruling Chinese Communist Party formulation for dismissing criticism. Germany has Europe’s biggest economy and its strategy seeks to balance robust trade ties with China. Beijing has been Germany’s biggest single trading partner in recent years.