Joerg Jetter, founder and CEO of 4JET, a German firm that makes industrial laser processing technology, poses at the company's headquarters in Alsdorf, western Germany, on February 10, 2026. "In all key industrial sectors, China has changed from a very attractive market into a very capable competitor," Joerg Jetter, CEO of 4JET, a German firm that makes industrial laser processing technology, told AFP. China was long a lucrative market for Germany Inc, but the Asian giant's rise in high-tech fields has put the heat on Europe's industrial powerhouse and its companies, big and small. 4JET, with around 240 employees, has felt the impact first hand: the firm used to have substantial business in solar cell production in China. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty Images)

Employees work at a tyre flipper machine for the tyre marking systeme at the headquarters of 4JET, a German firm that makes industrial laser processing technology, in Alsdorf, western Germany, on February 10, 2026. Insatiable demand in China for German exports, from cars to factory equipment, helped underpin a long boom in the eurozone's biggest economy. But times have changed: Chinese companies have become adept at making products long the specialities of manufacturers in Germany, adding to the headwinds that have left the country trapped in a seemingly endless decline. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty Images)

Employees work at a laser patterning machine for window glass at the headquarters of 4JET, a German firm that makes industrial laser processing technology, in Alsdorf, western Germany, on February 10, 2026. Insatiable demand in China for German exports, from cars to factory equipment, helped underpin a long boom in the eurozone's biggest economy. But times have changed: Chinese companies have become adept at making products long the specialities of manufacturers in Germany, adding to the headwinds that have left the country trapped in a seemingly endless decline. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty Images)

An employee works at a part of the tyre flipper for the tyre marking system at the headquarters of 4JET, a German firm that makes industrial laser processing technology, in Alsdorf, western Germany, on February 10, 2026. Insatiable demand in China for German exports, from cars to factory equipment, helped underpin a long boom in the eurozone's biggest economy. But times have changed: Chinese companies have become adept at making products long the specialities of manufacturers in Germany, adding to the headwinds that have left the country trapped in a seemingly endless decline. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty Images)

An employee works at a tyre marking machine at the headquarters of 4JET, a German firm that makes industrial laser processing technology, in Alsdorf, western Germany, on February 10, 2026. Insatiable demand in China for German exports, from cars to factory equipment, helped underpin a long boom in the eurozone's biggest economy. But times have changed: Chinese companies have become adept at making products long the specialities of manufacturers in Germany, adding to the headwinds that have left the country trapped in a seemingly endless decline. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty Images)

An employee works at a part of the tyre flipper for the tyre marking system at the headquarters of 4JET, a German firm that makes industrial laser processing technology, in Alsdorf, western Germany, on February 10, 2026. Insatiable demand in China for German exports, from cars to factory equipment, helped underpin a long boom in the eurozone's biggest economy. But times have changed: Chinese companies have become adept at making products long the specialities of manufacturers in Germany, adding to the headwinds that have left the country trapped in a seemingly endless decline. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty Images)

Joerg Jetter, founder and CEO of 4JET, a German firm that makes industrial laser processing technology, shows a sample of a car tyre at the company's headquarters in Alsdorf, western Germany, on February 10, 2026. Insatiable demand in China for German exports, from cars to factory equipment, helped underpin a long boom in the eurozone's biggest economy. But times have changed: Chinese companies have become adept at making products long the specialities of manufacturers in Germany, adding to the headwinds that have left the country trapped in a seemingly endless decline. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri (C) leaves the Los Angeles County Superior Court after testifying in a social media trial in Los Angeles on February 9, 2026. Arguments began February 9 in a landmark US trial that could establish a legal precedent on whether social media companies deliberately designed their platforms to lead to addiction in children. The case in Los Angeles Superior Court is being seen as a bellwether proceeding because its outcome could set the tone for a tidal wave of similar litigation across the United States. (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP via Getty Images)