In the second episode of "Watching China in Europe," a new series by GMF's Out of Order, Noah Barkin speaks with Wolfgang Niedermark, executive board member at the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the influential business lobby. After tit-for-tat sanctions between the EU and China sent a chill through the relationship, Niedermark talks about the increasingly precarious "balancing act" for German industry in China and whether the latest tensions will doom the EU-China investment agreement. Niedermark also discusses how Germany's China policy could evolve once Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves the political stage and sets out his worst and best case scenarios for German business in China over the next five years.

New episodes of the "Watching China in Europe" series will be posted to the Out of Order feed every few weeks. For more on China in Europe, subscribe to Noah's monthly newsletter at the link below.

Introducing "Watching China in Europe": a new recurring series by the Out of Order team. Hosted by Noah Barkin, a veteran journalist and GMF senior visiting fellow, WCIE will dig into the China-Europe relationship with the people shaping it.

In the first edition of the WCIE podcast, Noah speaks with Martin Selmayr, the influential former adviser to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, about the EU's China strategy. Selmayr was the driving force behind the EU-China strategic outlook (released two years ago this month) that labeled China a "systemic rival".

Selmayr looks back at how the document came together, talks about whether it is still relevant in an era of growing Chinese assertiveness, explains how the EU-China investment agreement fits into the puzzle, and what strategic autonomy means for the EU's positioning between Washington and Beijing.

New episodes of the "Watching China in Europe" series will be posted every few weeks. For more on China in Europe, subscribe to Noah's monthly newsletter at the link below.