Don't overthink this. Lemforder is a ZF company, wholly owned, and they have factories in China, among other places. So no suprises here. Chinese quality depends on the brand's commitment to a quality process. The IPhone in your pocket was made in China, and it's a gem. Same can be true with auto parts. The only way to know is to try it.

I buy a lot of bulk auto parts, and end up doing quality control on every batch. The place of manufacture printed on the box is no guaranty of quality (or lack of quality), and in fact, it may not even tell you much about where the part actually originated.

The "made in" label simply tells you where the last operation was performed. In the case of your tie rod end, you can't tell if the joint was made in China, and assembled with a German boot in Germany, or whether the entire part was made in Germany. In either case, the part can be legally labeled "made in Germany".

Finally, there's a ton of mislabeling in the business. I've traced parts back to Hong Kong which were labeled "made in Germany". It's the mislabeled parts that are the worst, and you would probably never know.