Gerhard Schroeder, the former Germany chancellor, in an interview, has criticized the U.S. for its trade policy, saying that Germany “cannot put up with being treated like an occupied country”.

“When I look at the actions of the U.S. ambassador in Germany, I get the impression that he sees himself more as an occupation officer than as an ambassador of the United States in a sovereign state,” Schroeder said, as cited by Die Welt.

The former chancellor called on German politicians to look for allies with similar interests and named China, particularly impacted by the recent U.S. trade restrictions, as one of the candidates.

The former German leader says Chinese investors are preferable to American “locusts”.“It is inevitable that those affected by the U.S.-induced conflicts should drift towards each other. We cannot play along with the U.S. trade war against China, but we must resolutely pursue our export interests at the Chinese market,” Schroeder pointed out, according to Sputnik.

He warned the German government against shutting out Chinese investors.

Speaking to Reuters in his office in Berlin, the former German leader said Chinese investors were preferable to American “locusts”.

Schroeder pushed back against a wave of skepticism towards China sweeping across Western capitals.

“We need to think about who our allies are, who has similar interests. And of course I think about China,” said Schroeder.

He rejected the exclusion of Chinese firms like Huawei from building Germany’s next-generation mobile networks. The United States and Australia have introduced such bans on security excuses, and some in Berlin are pushing for similar action.
Schroeder was a fierce opponent of the U.S. war on Iraq in 2003.