Shaping the future: Germany as a co-architect of the new geo-economic order
Germany finds itself in the midst of deep technological, economic, and geopolitical changes. Old rules are giving way to a new geo-economic order.
Far from being some abstract future scenario, this realignment is already impacting industrial decision-making today. We are reevaluating global supply chains, exposing technological dependencies, and factoring geopolitical risk into our economic calculations. Markets are fragmenting, trade relations are becoming more politicized, and the choice of location is taking on renewed strategic importance. For an export-oriented economy such as Germany’s, that means economic success depends on how we collectively handle geopolitical instability.
In this environment, competitiveness is not purely a matter of cost or efficiency but also one of resilience, strategic embedding, and the capacity to innovate. Germany is neither an isolated fringe actor nor a simple rules-adopter in this context. As a key industrial economy in Europe, it shares the responsibility to shape this new order. Our view at the BDI is that this responsibility requires clarity on our own strengths — and a willingness to coalesce more closely around economic policy, industrial viewpoints, business interests, and European perspectives.
The BDI advocates for implementing these goals together:
• We, the BDI, encourage Europe to actively manage geo-economic crises and launch new trade and investment initiatives.
• We, the BDI, support a China strategy aimed at de-risking rather than decoupling in an effort to reduce dependencies without cutting cooperation across the board.
• We, the BDI, call for economic security to be recognized as an integral part of location and foreign trade policy that includes resilient supply chains, access to raw materials, and rules-based global trade.
• We, the BDI, call for public policy to work hand in hand with industry to secure critical raw material supplies as a building block of strategic sovereignty.
• We, the BDI, are clear: National security and the economic order today are closely linked, with direct implications for the private sector.
Verbinden
Industrial strength does not come from the excellence of individual firms alone; it arises from an ability to bring together technological, economic, and scientific actors through intelligent networks. Studies show that industrial value creation reaches its peak impact in a cluster.
Handlungsfähigkeit
The future of Europe depends on our ability to advance the causes of innovation, defense, and democracy — together and resolutely through close industrial cooperation — by furthering integration in Europe and strengthening the European Single Market.
Dauerwandel
Transformation has become an all-of-society effort that can secure and grow our prosperity. Industry has a duty to tackle this task and drive it forward.
Change is no longer a one-off project; it is the new normal. Climate change, demographic trends, digitalization, and national-security requirements are fundamentally changing our markets and the means of production. This makes innovation a central source of future economic vitality.
Leadership
The question is not whether German industry is in the lead, but how it leads the way in this new order — for Germany and Europe.
Responsible leadership is a function of skill and impact. German industry demonstrates both in its technological excellence, deep industrial value chains, and international connections.
Fundament
Credible claims to leadership rest on economic strength. It preserves our capacity to act by securing sovereignty and resilience in a changed world.
A strong economy is a requirement for political freedom of action. It unlocks investment opportunities, enables technological development, and improves our ability to respond to crises. Without industrial substance, strategic autonomy remains an illusion
Systemkompetenz
Value creation today is a dynamic, interconnected fabric of closely integrated businesses, technologies, markets, and societal expectations. The reality of industrial production has fundamentally shifted. Products no longer emerge in isolated value chains but in complex networks of suppliers, platforms, services, and digital infrastructures.
Verbundkraft
Innovation and transformation emerge at the intersection of industry, commerce, and technology.
Many of the most impactful innovations of our time occurred at such intersections: of energy and industry, of digitalization and health, of mobility and infrastructure.
Verlässlichkeit
Germany and Europe boast a stable legal environment that enables reliable collaboration, a decisive locational advantage in the context of global competition. Legal certainty, dependability, and institutional stability are central prerequisites for long-term industrial collaboration. Germany and Europe provide an environment that builds trust between companies, investors, and governments.
Zusammenhalt
The international environment is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. A shifting balance of global power, hybrid threats, and the deliberate creation of economic dependencies are fundamentally altering the contours of what it means to be a global economic destination.
