When Germany's finance minister chose Volkswagen's headquarters to deliver a warning about China, the symbolism wasn't subtle. Standing in the shadow of the carmaker's flagship plant on Thursday, Lars Klingbeil told Brussels it was time to stop pulling punches with Beijing — a message aimed less at EU trade officials than at the tens of thousands of German autoworkers watching their jobs disappear.
"We cannot, when all is said and done, be naive in our dealings with China," Klingbeil said, fresh from meetings with VW staff representatives and local politicians. Germany, he added, needs "a different, more robust approach toward countries that threaten our industry."
