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China has been germany's top trading partner. there was more than $300 billion in trade between the two nations last year. according to reuters. germany's own finance minister said the strong of the relationship is dangerous and saying this his country should learn what transpired with russia. i asked olaf scholz about berlin/beijing relations as part of my exclusive interview. >> i want to ask you about china. the european union, europe has been very closely allied with america and its position on russia. do you in germany believe that you are in exactly the same place as the united states wi...

Agreed in nato. >> when? >> we are starting with this and we are not spending a billion, we are spending quite a lot because we already have the highest defense budget in the european union to be very clear, as germany. but we are willing to increase this. but it is not that we're going to go shopping more and saying i want to buy this or this, and it is even different as if we were -- by cars or trucks which you could ask companies to do and you will have ride the next day or in two or three or six months time. in many cases, we have to make the industry starting the production and delivering...

But it requires somebody who aches a strong view of the constitution and says these are things i don't need permission from congress to do, managerial and bureaucratic reform will liberate9 this company. and i think it's time to get rid of that managerial class. maria: well, unfortunately, the biden administration's main priority is the climate change agenda. this is a whole of government approach, and it has impacted the national security of being oil independent, energy independent. >> absolutely. i mean, you think about actually handing $40 billion to ukraine with one hand at the same time ...

Security guarantees from nato, perhaps e.u. membership and in return it accepts the reality that it is not getting crimea back, it is perhaps not getting some parts of the donbas back? >> there will be no decisions without the ukrainians. we will not take decisions instead of them. we support them. >> but should they -- would you encourage them to take -- >> we told them that they could go for membership in the european union and they are very -- they working to -- to make progress and all of the criteria that are important for this. i think they know that we will -- that we are ready to organ...

And most people said that the war is going to cause severe constraints on supply, once china reopens they will consume 2 million barrels a day that they stopped during covid. so how come it is still at $83 a barrel? >> the fear was, and prices ran up on the concern that russia supplies would come out of the market. that hasn't happened. russian crude is still flowing to different places but it is still in the market. and the policy of the u.s. and the e.u. has been to keep those supplies flowing to try to impact the price at which that oil trades. so i think the fact that prices are largely th...