Power shift to Asia offers opportunity and challenge to German companies

IS this the beginning of the Asian Century? There are many indications that it is. There is no doubt that the balance of power is shifting.

The United States is still the world's largest economy. Yet, while it was once the strongest proponent of free trade, "America first" - with a tendency towards "America only" - now applies at the centre of power. That is reflected by the tonality with which the US asserts its interests.

Europe is struggling with internal challenges and essentially has no uniform foreign economic policy. Given the different horizons of the large and small member states and the chaotic state of the Brexit proceedings, improvement cannot be expected without fundamental reforms.