There is another complementary factor in the China Germany economic relationship. China has something that Europe’s largest economy badly needs: a potential supply of skilled workers. Germany is facing a shortage... and it’s turning its eyes abroad to make up the gap.
Kim Ma moved to Berlin in 2008 as an exchange student from Beijing University.
The native of China’s Hunan Province says she was shocked at first by the short winter days and keeping up with her coursework in a new language. Soon though, she began to appreciate the laid-back lifestyle.
After finishing her economics degree at Humboldt University, Kim now works for the consulting firm Ernst and Young. Many in Germany are hoping that there will be more stories like Kim’s in the future.
According to the Cologne Institute of Economic Research Spring report, Germany faced a shortfall of over 117,000 skilled workers in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The report goes on to predict a gap of nearly one million skilled workers within six years. To that end, the German government has said it’s committed to increasing the numbers of foreign students at its universities. And Chinese students are among the largest groups on German campuses.
That introduction to German life can be invaluable for both sides. Of course the real impact on the German economy is if these students actually stay in the country. In Kim’s case, that seems to have worked out so far.
The advice she has for students from China and elsewhere who come to Germany is to be open to new experiences. Some of the fields where Germany is projected to have the greatest demand are engineering, computer science and mathematics.