Germany should take a self-confident and realistic approach towards China but the idea of decoupling completely from the Asian superpower is naive, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Tuesday.

"We will not sell out our liberal values for good business, but we need a better balance than before," Lindner wrote on Twitter, after his trip to China this week was called off at the last minute. (Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Kevin Liffey)