German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, has expressed scepticism that imposing tariffs on China, as suggested by French President Emmanuel Macron, is the way to go if Beijing doesn’t address its trade policy.

“Germany does not pursue a policy of protectionism as a matter of principle. But the Chinese side must recognise that it needs to take action in this area,” Mr Wadephul said on a visit to Beijing on Monday.

Tariffs should only be considered as a last resort, “because once you get into a cycle like that, there is usually a ping-pong effect or a spiral of further counter-reactions, and that only harms free trade,” said Mr Wadephul.

Following a visit to China, Mr Macron raised the prospect of countermeasures against China unless it works to change its trade balance with the European Union, which is heavily tilted in Beijing’s favour.

“I am trying to explain to the Chinese that their trade surplus is not sustainable because they are in the process of killing off their own customers, notably by no longer importing much from us,” Mr Macron told French business daily Les Echos.

“I told them that if they do not respond, we Europeans would be forced in the coming months to take strong measures and scale down cooperation, following the example of the United States, for example through tariffs on Chinese products.”

(dpa/NAN)