China Competence and China Expertise: Some Conceptual and Analytical Reflections

Abstract

Public outcry has seldom been louder: Germany is diminishing rather than enhancing its "China competence" journalist Felix Lee highlighted in October 2023. Echoing this concern, German trade associations now view the lack of China competence as a structural competitive disadvantage. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research regularly emphasizes the urgent need to bolster China competence. The German Strategy on China, released by the federal government in July 2023, even includes a specific chapter regarding "Expertise on China", wherein the government asserts that "independent expertise on China is essential for mutual understanding and for the long-term, successful pursuit and assertion of Germany's interests".