As China's investments in Germany grow, so do the ethical pitfalls

On paper, the German city of Duisburg, population 500,000, seems like a perfect stop on the roadmap of China’s global ambitions.

Situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, Duisburg had become the poster child for industrial decline, a heady fall for a city long counted among the wealthiest in Germany. Duisburg fortunes were made via tobacco and textiles in the 19th century and coal, chemicals, and steel during the 20th. As a major industrial center, it was often targeted by Allied bombers during World War II. Though, as industry dwindled over the last few decades, high unemployment and low levels of education settled into the area’s