China’s rise as an economic, technological, and geopolitical superpower is one of the defining developments of the 21st century. Consequently, dealing with China poses an increasingly difficult challenge for German policymakers and scholars.

The complexity - and, in some cases, the contradictory nature - of Germany’s relations with China is already reflected in the German government’s recent efforts to reshape them. In the German government’s China Strategy, published in 2023, the country is characterized as a simultaneous partner, competitor, and rival, in line with the EU's approach. Both the China Strategy and the current German government’s coalition agreement explicitly call for strengthening and integrating German expertise on China. 

Against this backdrop, the Leibniz Research Network examines highly relevant, interdisciplinary issues ranging from geopolitics, trade, innovation, and the environment to development cooperation. The generated knowledge is made available for policy processes through knowledge transfer formats.

Horizontal exchange among the participating institutes also strengthens their ability to better adapt to their own challenges in dealing with China. On the one hand, China’s rapid advancement in key technologies makes the country a very attractive partner for German research organizations; on the other hand, the close intertwining of civilian and military research in China also poses risks. The network cooperates closely with the Leibniz association's head office to strengthen research security.