Being from Germany I'd also like to point out that that there's another country that did very well throughout the recent recession, namely our neighbor Poland.
The reasons there are probably quite different and also have very little to do with China.
The Zloty is now worth 18% less than in 2008. That translates into 18% cheaper wages. So for Poland, one important aspect is that they had their own currency. The PIIGS are forced into years of deep depression and painful wage cuts to achieve the same increase in competitiveness.
What everybody forgets is that Germany did proactively cut the real income with other means than inflating the currency. The wage cuts did happen proactively before they became really painfull.
The reasons there are probably quite different and also have very little to do with China.
GDP growth Germany: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP-Growth.aspx?Sy... GDP growth Poland: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP-Growth.aspx?Sy...