FRANKFURT—Output in Germany’s large manufacturing sector slumped in March, underscoring how the war in Ukraine and lockdowns in China are smothering Europe’s postpandemic recovery.
The slowdown in Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse bodes ill for swaths of the continent that are bound tightly to German supply chains. It also underscores Germany’s close links with China, the nation’s largest trading partner and a crucial market for German autos and high-tech machinery. The relationship, fostered over decades by German executives and politicians, risks becoming a liability as China’s economy slows and Beijing pursues a zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19.
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