Comment: China exports: The one trillion dollar gap is also Europe's fault

China's export machine is running unstoppably. From January to October, the trade surplus exceeds $1 trillion. The imbalance is greatest with Europe: China's surplus with the EU is $311 billion and significantly exceeds that with the USA. With Germany it has almost doubled. Imports from the EU are hardly growing, those from Germany are falling slightly.

One reason may be that Europe offers too little of what China particularly demands: high-tech components and raw materials. Chinese manufacturers, on the other hand, are rapidly gaining ground, including in Europe.

The question of the causes is often asked, but sometimes the answer is too one-sided. First, there are China's overt and hidden subsidies. They don't surprise anyone who knows China's industrial ecosystems from the inside.

Chinese state capitalism does not begin in Beijing, where the broad lines of economic planning emerge, but in the race between provinces, cities and often even districts for investors. They are deeply rooted in the economic system of the People's Republic. It's about rent-free office buildings, hidden loans in the start-up phase, financial and logistical help.