Welcome to the Euro Intelligence Podcast. I'm Wolfgang Munchau and with me are Zuzana Muncheng and Jack Smith.

Today we talk about the relationship between Germany and China, as Olaf Schultz is about to

go to China with a plane full of businessman. The other story is Schultz's relationship with Macron,

which doesn't go too well. Now, these two stories are related.

There is something afoot now in European politics.

Zuzana, how do the French see this German-Chinese beautiful friendship that seems to be

starting with Chinese companies being allowed stakes in German critical infrastructure

and Schultz take the top German business people to sign lucrative

contracts to China. This seems to be extremely unilateral, isn't that?

Well, in Paris, on the political level, we are all wondering what this is all about. They

haven't been consulted. And my understanding is also the coalition partners have been surprised

for all of Schultz's move on Costco, allowing Costco to get a stake in the Port of Hamburg.

Maybe it would be, you wrote about the story.

So maybe it would be good to lie at Nass and what's going on, what's the strategy behind.

Why is he doing what he's doing?

What to make of it also in terms of what it means

for the rest of Europe? I mean, the ministries objected to it. There were six ministries in

Germany, the Defence Ministry, the Economics Ministry, the Interior Ministry, they're all objected

to it on security grants and on commercial grants. This is a very serious thing for him to overrule his own cabinet.

They've done it again now in the case of a small chipmaker that's now being sold off to the Chinese.

So this is a reversal of both European and German policy that's taking place.

And it's very clear that Schultz has done these things.

...