ASEAN: Germany wants to expand markets and supply chains in Asia

Before Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Bali today, he visited Vietnam and Singapore. Berlin wants German companies to expand their supply chains, create more markets and diversify its sources of raw materials to reduce its dependence on individual countries Chancellor Scholz said. He didn't mention China specifically, but it's clear he meant the production powerhouse.

Many sectors of the German economy are heavily dependent on China. Here you can see Germany's direct investment in Asia. In 2010, direct investments in China made up a third of Germany's investments on that continent. Ten years later, that had surged to almost half, at 46.5 percent.

In the same time frame, investments in Southeast Asian nations decreased. The biggest countries of the 10 nation ASEAN trade block include Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.