At the close of a four-day journey through Asia, Chancellor Friedrich Merz stood in Seoul and offered again a vision he had carried through Singapore and Japan: a web of nations bound to free trade and to shared rules. He spoke as a man who sees the old order of commerce loosening, as rivalry between the United States and China pulls tariffs, technology walls, and the scramble for critical materials into the foundations of the global economy. For Germany, whose prosperity has long rested on open exchange, the question is no longer only what trade can deliver, but whether the rules that made it
Merz Urges Global Free Trade Network as US-China Rivalry Reshapes the Economy
Supply chains become political pawns
Mark
Merz gave the same pitch in Singapore, Japan and now Seoul. Why does the repetition matter?
Mimi
It shows this is a deliberate message, not a passing remark. He's telling Indo-Pacific partners that Germany sees the US-China rivalry as their problem and Europe's problem alike.
Mark
What did he actually name as the threats?
Mimi
Tariffs, technological decoupling, the race for critical raw materials. And he said supply chains used as political pawns endanger growth and even regional security.
Luke
Careful, though. He's calling for a network. Nothing in this reporting says any country has signed on to one.
Mimi
Fair. It's a stated aim, with no partners or terms named in the piece.
Mark
Why Seoul as the stage?
Mimi
The audience was German business. South Korea's prime minister, Han Seong Sook, said German firms use Korea as a central hub for the Asia-Pacific. So the room had real stakes.
Luke
And Steinmeier meeting Xi the same day? Is that coordinated?
Mimi
The reporting doesn't say. It only notes both events, separately.
Luke
Then we shouldn't read one as a response to the other. It's a coincidence of calendar as far as we can confirm.
Mark
So what's the test?
Mimi
Whether the words turn into concrete partnerships. That's still unknown.
Il Polso
- Tariffs, tech decoupling, and a race for critical raw materials are reshaping the global economy in ways that unsettle every trading nation.
- Merz warns that supply chains are being turned into political pawns, with growth and regional security now at risk.
- Germany is positioning itself as the architect of a rules-based coalition against unilateralism and power politics, repeating the call in Singapore, Japan, and Seoul.
- The message reached a business audience that depends on South Korea as a hub, but no specific partnership or timetable has yet emerged.
At the close of a four-day journey through Asia, Chancellor Friedrich Merz stood in Seoul and offered again a vision he had carried through Singapore and Japan: a web of nations bound to free trade and to shared rules. He spoke as a man who sees the old order of commerce loosening, as rivalry between the United States and China pulls tariffs, technology walls, and the scramble for critical materials into the foundations of the global economy. For Germany, whose prosperity has long rested on open exchange, the question is no longer only what trade can deliver, but whether the rules that made it possible can still hold.
On the final day of a four-day Asian tour, Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business in Seoul, repeating a message he had already delivered in Singapore and Japan. Germany, he said, wants a global network of countries committed to free trade and international rules.
His diagnosis was direct. Rivalry between the United States and China is intensifying, and tariffs, technological decoupling, and a fierce competition for critical raw materials are changing the rules of the world economy. He argued this concerns everyone, especially aspiring partners in the Indo-Pacific, as well as Germany and Europe.
Merz named the dangers he saw: supply chains turned into political tools, blocked access to key technologies, and resource deals that resemble shows of power more than fair partnerships. Together, he argued, these threaten growth, prosperity, and the security of whole regions.
South Korea's Prime Minister Han Seong Sook had described her country the day before as a central hub for German firms expanding across the Asia-Pacific, giving Merz's pitch a practical audience. Meanwhile, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was in China to meet Xi Jinping, though the reporting does not link the two trips.
What remains open is whether the free trade network becomes concrete partnerships or stays a message repeated at conferences. No specific agreement or timetable has been identified yet, and that is what to watch once Merz returns to Berlin.
On the last day of a four-day swing through Asia, Chancellor Friedrich Merz stood before the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business in Seoul and repeated a message he had already delivered in Singapore and Japan: Germany wants a global network of countries committed to free trade built on international rules.
His diagnosis was blunt. Competition between the United States and China is ramping up, he said, and tariffs, technological decoupling strategies and a hard race for critical raw materials and new technologies are fundamentally changing the rules of the global economy. He described these conflicts and the systemic shifts in power as a concern for everyone, but especially for economically aspiring partners in the Indo-Pacific, and for Germany and Europe as well.
Merz then moved from description to a stated position. Germany and its partners, he said, are joining forces resolutely against unilateralism, autocratic power politics and violations of international law. He named specific dangers: supply chains turned into political pawns, obstructed access to key technologies, and efforts to secure raw materials that look more like displays of power than fair partnerships. Any of these, he argued, jeopardizes growth, prosperity and ultimately the security of entire regions.
The setting mattered. South Korea is, in the words of its Prime Minister Han Seong Sook, a central hub that German companies use to expand their presence across the Asia-Pacific region. She said so at the same conference on Thursday, a day before Merz spoke. That gave the chancellor's pitch a practical audience: firms with operations in the region and exposure to the very supply chain and technology tensions he described.
The speech came as Germany's attention was split between two tracks of diplomacy. While Merz wrapped up his tour in Seoul, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was separately in China, where he was set to meet President Xi Jinping. The source reporting does not say what Steinmeier would discuss, and it does not link the two trips, but they unfolded the same day on the same continent.
Back home, a different question is gaining urgency: who should become Germany's next head of state. Many want to see the country's first female president. Merz, according to DW, is keeping his cards close to his chest on the matter.
What remains open is whether the free trade network stays a message repeated at conferences or becomes a set of concrete partnerships. Merz has made the call in three countries now, but the reporting here does not identify any specific agreement, partner commitment or timetable. That is the thing to watch after he returns to Berlin.
Citazioni salienti
We are resolutely joining forces against unilateralism, autocratic power politics and violations of international law.— Chancellor Friedrich Merz
German companies are using Korea as a central hub to expand their presence in the Asia-Pacific region.— South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong Sook
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Politics & Governance