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Germany's conservatives win election as far-right AfD leaps to second place, exit polls show
Дата публикации: 23-02-2025 12:14:04



China on Feb. 19 published a “2025 action plan for stabilizing foreign investment” to improve the ability of foreign capital to invest in domestic telecommunication and biotechnology industries, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese. “We are looking forward to see this implemented in a manner that delivers tangible benefits for our members,” Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said in a statement. “This action plan is a very strong signal,” Xiaojia Sun, Beijing-based partner at JunHe Law, said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
BEIJING — China is trying yet again to boost foreign investment, amid geopolitical tensions and businesses’ calls for more concrete actions.
On Feb. 19, authorities published a “2025 action plan for stabilizing foreign investment” to make it easier for foreign capital to invest in domestic telecommunication and biotechnology industries, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese.
The document called for clearer standards in government procurement — a major issue for foreign businesses in China — and for the development of a plan to gradually allow foreign investment in the education and culture sectors.
“We are looking forward to see this implemented in a manner that delivers tangible benefits for our members,” Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said in a statement Thursday.
The chamber pointed out that China has already mentioned plans to open up telecommunications, health care, education and culture to foreign investment. Greater clarity on public procurement requirements is a “notable positive,” the chamber said, noting that “if fully implemented,” it could benefit foreign companies that have invested heavily to localize their production in China.
China’s latest action plan was released around the same time the Commerce Ministry disclosed that foreign direct investment in January fell by 13.4% to 97.59 billion yuan ($13.46 billion). That was after FDI plunged by 27.1% in 2024 and dropped by 8% in 2023, after at least eight straight years of annual growth, according to official data available through Wind Information.
All regions should “ensure that all the measures are implemented in 2025, and effectively boost foreign investment confidence,” the plan said. The Ministry of Commerce and National Development and Reform Commission — the economic planning agency — jointly released the action plan through the government’s executive body, the State Council.
Officials from the Commerce Ministry emphasized in a press conference Thursday that the action plan would be implemented by the end of 2025, and that details on subsequent supportive measures would come soon.
“We appreciate the Chinese government’s recognition of the vital role foreign companies play in the economy,” Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said in a statement. “We look forward to further discussions on the key challenges our members face and the steps needed to ensure a more level playing field for market access.”
AmCham China’s latest survey of members, released last month, found that a record share are considering or have started diversifying manufacturing or sourcing away from China. The prior year’s survey had found members were finding it harder to make money in China than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consumer spending in China has remained lackluster since the pandemic, with retail sales only growing by the low single digits in recent months. Tensions with the U.S. have meanwhile escalated as the White House has restricted Chinese access to advanced technology and levied tariffs on Chinese goods.
‘A very strong signal’
While many aspects of the action plan were publicly mentioned last year, some points — such as allowing foreign companies to buy local equity stakes using domestic loans — are relatively new, said Xiaojia Sun, Beijing-based partner at JunHe Law.
She also highlighted the plan’s call to support foreign investors’ ability to participate in mergers and acquisitions in China, and noted it potentially benefits overseas listings. Sun’s practice covers corporates, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets.
The bigger question remains China’s resolve to act on the plan.
“This action plan is a very strong signal,” Sun said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. She said she expects Beijing to follow through with implementation, and noted that its release was similar to a rare, high-profile meeting earlier in the week of Chinese President Xi Jinping and entrepreneurs.
That gathering on Feb. 17 included Alibaba founder Jack Ma and DeepSeek’s Liang Wenfeng. In recent years, regulatory crackdowns and uncertainty about future growth had dampened business confidence and foreign investor sentiment.
China needs to strike a balance between tariff retaliation and stabilizing FDI, Citi analysts pointed out earlier this month.
“We believe China policymakers are likely cautious about targeting U.S. [multinationals] as a form of retaliation against U.S. tariffs,” the analysts said. “FDI comes into China, bringing technology and know-how, creating jobs, revenue and profit, and contributing to tax revenue.” 
In a relatively rare acknowledgement, Chinese Commerce Ministry officials on Thursday noted the impact of geopolitical tensions on foreign investment, including some companies’ decision to diversify away from China. They also pointed out that foreign-invested firms contribute to nearly 7% of employment and around 14% of taxes in the country.
Previously, official commentary from the Commerce Ministry about any drop in FDI tended to focus only on how most foreign businesses remained optimistic about long-term prospects in China.


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  • The Christian Democratic Union and the allied Christian Social Union secured the largest share of votes in the German federal election on Sunday, according to exit polls from German broadcaster ZDF.
  • This puts the party's lead candidate Friedrich Merz in prime position to take over from Olaf Scholz as chancellor of Europe's largest economy.
  • The far-right AfD came in second with 20% of votes, the exit poll data indicated.

BERLIN — The Christian Democratic Union and the allied Christian Social Union secured the largest share of votes in the German federal election on Sunday, according to exit polls from German broadcaster ZDF.

This puts the party's lead candidate Friedrich Merz in prime position to take over from Olaf Scholz as chancellor of Europe's largest economy.

The CDU-CSU won 28.5% of votes, with the far-right AfD in second place with 20% and Scholz's Social Democratic Party coming in third with 16.5%, according to ZDF exit polls data.

"We have won it because the CDU and CSU worked well together and we prepared very very well for this election and also for taking over governing responsibility," Merz said, according to a CNBC translation, extending thanks to CSU chief Markus Söder and other supporters. "It was a great campaign."

He acknowledged that the challenges would not be easy to tackle, noting it was now time for political groups to hold talks and set up a new government as soon as possible.

"It is a bitter election result for the Social Democratic Party. It is also an election defeat, [and] I think that needs to be said once clearly, from the start, given a result like this," Scholz said at the party's headquarters, as he thanked campaigners and supporters. He said he took responsibility during the previous federal vote, when the SPD achieved a better performance and that "this time the election result is bad and therefore I also have responsibility for this election result."

Money Report

Scholz also congratulated Merz and the CDU-CSU on their own voting outcome.

The CDU and its regional sister party the Christian Social Union were topping the polls in the lead-up to the election, with support dipping slightly just ahead of the vote. The far-right AfD was polling in second place, followed by the SPD.

This marked a drop in support for the SPD, which took the top spot during the 2021 election, followed by the CDU/CSU. The AfD clinched fourth place at the time.

Germans cast two votes on Sunday, one to directly elect a member of parliament to represent their constituency and one for a party list. The second vote determined the proportional make-up of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, with parties sending their candidates to Berlin to ensure representation.

Parties also must meet a 5% threshold to be able to garner seats in parliament. Crucially, the groups that tend to secure around this level of votes often become so-called kingmakers of coalition building after the election.

A key focus around the election has been how smaller parties fare, which could impact both coalition building and the ability of the incoming government to reform constitutional rules, for example around spending and debt. They would need a two-thirds majority to do so.

Observers were also closely watching the performance of the far-right AfD amid a broader rightward political shift across the Western world.


The election comes at a tumultuous time for Germany, both politically and economically.

The Sunday vote is only the fourth early election in the country's history and took place after the former ruling coalition made up of the SPD, the Green party and the Free Democratic Party collapsed late last year, in another rarity for local politics. Deeply rooted long-term disagreements among about economic, fiscal and budget policies had led to the union's effective break-up.

Such policies will also be top of the agenda when it comes to the post-election coalition building process and then governance, especially due to the sluggish German economy, which contracted in both 2023 and 2024. Further concerns lie ahead, including a strong focus on exports, a housebuilding crisis and difficulties in the key auto sector.

The new ruling coalition will also need to contend with a fierce domestic debate about migration, the rising popularity of the far right, and broader tensions between Europe and the U.S. as President Donald Trump advances his trade and Ukraine war policies in his second term.

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