German companies are increasingly investing abroad in China. This is particularly true in the manufacturing sector, such as the automotive industry. US companies, on the other hand, are largely staying away from the country. ”German companies are on the path to critical dependence on the goodwill of the Chinese leadership. They serve China's geopolitical claim to power when they transfer their know-how to the country, and they can be squeezed out by domestic firms,” said Rolf J. Langhammer, a trade expert at the Kiel Institute, on the occasion of a recent analysis.