Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing warned in a speech at the Handelsblatt Banking Summit in Frankfurt this week that Germany is set to enter a recession.

According to reports, Sewing noted that the war in Ukraine “destroyed a number of certainties” that had previously guided the global economic system over the past few decades.

He went on to cite the record inflation wracking Europe’s economies, which was produced by disrupted global supply chains, a labor market bottleneck, as well as energy shortages leading to sky high gas and electricity prices, as key to the problems facing Europe.

He went on, “As a result, we will no longer be able to avert a recession in Germany. Yet we believe that our economy is resilient enough to cope well with this recession — provided the central banks act quickly and decisively now.”

He went on to note that for now, Germans will be able to fall back on their pandemic savings to pay for rapidly rising energy costs, and that most companies are still “sufficiently financed.” However he warned, “But the longer inflation remains high, the greater the strain and the higher the potential for social conflict.”

He also emphasized the need or Germany to accelerate efforts to decouple from China. He noted China accounts for 8% of Germany’s exports, and 12% of its imports. In addition, more than 10% of the sales from companies listed on the German DAX index are made to China.

He said, “Reducing this dependency will require a change no less fundamental than decoupling from Russian energy.”