Germans emerge as Europe’s biggest China hawks as economic pain begins to bite

Some 49 per cent of those polled see China as a rival or adversary while just 38 per cent see the nation in positive terms, new survey finds

Published amid a bout of soul-searching in Berlin over whether to back a tougher approach towards China on trade, the findings suggest that the country’s citizens might not be opposed to such a shift.

A combined 49 per cent of German people polled considered China to be primarily a rival or an adversary, way ahead of the second of the 13 countries polled, which was 43 per cent in France – a long-time supporter of a more interventionist EU trade policy.

Just 38 per cent of Germans see China in positive terms, either as a partner or ally. By contrast, 65 per cent of Spaniards and 62 per cent of Bulgarians view Beijing in such glowing terms.

“The China shock has hit Germany particularly hard: its manufacturing sector lost around 420,000 jobs between 2019 and 2025 and it continues to shed 10,000 jobs each month,” read the report by the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.