https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3012302/caught-between-trump-and-hard-place-do-business-german
German companies think China is a far more reliable trading partner than the US or Great Britain, according to a survey by Commerzbank.
China was ranked third in an assessment based on political and economic conditions affecting trade, with a score of 30, led by Germany itself way out ahead on 65, and France on 39. The US, in fourth place, was a long way behind on 17 points, followed by Italy (11), Russia (10), Great Britain (8), Brazil (5) and Turkey (3), according to the results of the survey issued on Wednesday.
The US’ protectionist stance under President Trump counted against it with respondents. More than two thirds (68 per cent) of companies with a physical presence in the US, and 64 per cent of exporters to the US, feared the country’s foreign and trade policies would have a negative impact on business.
The UK’s imminent departure from the European Union was even more off-putting for trade partners, the survey found. As many as 82 per cent of firms with a branch or office location in Great Britain, and 60 per cent of exporters to the country, worried that Brexit would have a negative impact.
Of 115 companies considering transferring their production facilities overseas, 31 per cent said they were eyeing China, compared to 11 per cent looking at southeast Asian countries, and 9 per cent mulling a move to the US.
Commerzbank interviewed first-level managers at 2,000 German companies with an annual turnover of at least €2 million. Just over half (52 per cent) of the respondents were exporters, with most of these (77 per cent) being manufacturers.
