Germany’s iconic machine makers used to be among the loudest cheerleaders for ever-closer economic ties between China and Europe.Now, as exports dwindle and facing “increasingly strong [Chinese] competitors” beefed up by “unfair state subsidies”, the industry is demanding that Brussels put in place trade barriers to protect it.A new position paper published on Thursday by the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), representing medium-sized manufacturers that help constitute...