Germans invented cars — and by the time Carl Benz patented the "vehicle powered by a gas engine" in 1886, he already knew that selling them would become an international business. His company's first customer was the sultan of Morocco, Hassan I. And his first car reached China only a few years later, in 1901, as a birthday gift to the mother of the reigning emperor.

However, Carl Benz had no way of knowing that 120 years later China's domestic automobile industry would grow to become the biggest rival of German car manufacturers. The two countries cooperated closely for decades, with Volkswagen entering a joint venture to produce cars in Shanghai in 1983 and German cars ruling the streets of Chinese cities for decades to come.

Even today, German brands are making massive profits in the Chinese market. And many agree with former German President and IMF Chairman Horst Köhler, who recently went viral in China for an interview in which he said, "both of us would be stupid — China would be stupid and Germany would be stupid — if we didn't have a good relationship."

"We need to work together and make sure the global economy is booming," Köhler told a Chinese videoblogger.

But the European Commission seems to have a different perspective. Just days after the EU elections, the bloc's executive branch announced punitive tariffs of up to 38.1% on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), despite criticism from European carmakers and the German government.

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