Germany escaped the first China shock that hit the US economy because it produced higher end goods and because China needed the machinery that the Germans produced.

The core of German industry is being threatened by China now because China has moved up the value chain, producing the machinery that it once had to import. The German-China shock will be even more severe than the US shock as machinery and cars are the heart of German industry.

I hope Germans wake up to how their leaders sold their country out under the guise of promoting trade and "win-win" business opportunities with China. The list of culprits include Helmut Schmidt, Gerard Shröder and Rudolf Scharping. An export nation was seeking a huge market of consumers but the truth of the matter is, China never wanted to consume foreign goods.

This was a Faustian bargain all along. Germans should re-read Goethe.