Here to Stay? German Firms Fear Russia's Pivot to Asia May Be Permanent

Anti-Russian sanctions could smother German economy with massive revenue and jobs' loss; they will do even more damage in the long-run since Russian companies unable to work with their German counterparts increasingly turn to China.

In 2015, the German economy is estimated to lose up to 290,000 jobs and receive $10 billion less than it could due to restrictive measure imposed on Moscow, the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations told Contra Magazine. German exports to Russia last year fell by $7.2 billion.

"The current developments exceed our worst fears," committee chairman Eckhard Cordes said.

This nasty short-term implication of an unreasonable Western policy towards Russia is affecting many European countries, not only the largest economy in the EU. In total, the European Union could potentially lose as much as $110 billion and up to 2 million jobs from the anti-Russian sanctions, according to the committee's estimates.

But the long-term consequences are far more profound and damaging. German businesses now fear that their reliable and long-time Russian partners have pivoted to Asia, specifically China.

German businesses are concerned that this shift could be permanent. By the time restrictive measures are lifted, former ties and partnerships could be long gone. German companies demand that the government lift the crippling anti-Russian sanctions to avoid this nightmare scenario, the media outlet said.