German article: Europe's blind pursuit of the United States will be out of touch with the times

The September issue of the German monthly journal Trends published an article entitled "Sobbing the West and Remeasuring the World", written by Thomas Bangsab, President of the German International Association for Technology Transfer, and Robert Kappel, former director of the German Institute for Global and Regional Studies and professor at the University of Leipzig, with the following excerpts:

Since Biden became president of the United States, the fundamental changes in the world order have not regressed. Western monopolies and their rules and institutions have long been questioned. Many developing countries and emerging industrial countries have experienced rapid economic growth and deepening South-South cooperation. As a result, new structures have emerged in the world order.

A review of past trade conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union and between the United States and Japan shows that the conflict between the United States and China will also be a long-term event for at least 20 to 30 years. The EU should not unilaterally side with its transatlantic partners, but should forge ever-changing alliances. The United States has lost its original role as an order defender in many areas. For the foreseeable future, neither the United States, China nor the European Union will be able to dominate the world.

As a result of Trump's "America First" policy, Europe has played a pioneering role in opening up its markets. China is catching up, promoting the idea of free trade within the framework of many projects, and thus singing "back-to-back plays" with the United States.

U.S. monetary policy is increasingly oriented toward U.S. national goals. The United States has also lost its dominance in other areas of macro coordination. The neo-mercantilist policy runs counter to macroeconomic coordination in the G20 and G77.

At the same time, the United States has lost the ability and will to act globally as a peacemaker. Exiting the global crisis zone is the guiding principle of the "America First" policy.

Transformational capabilities have been diversified. Emerging industrial countries such as Vietnam, Morocco and Colombia have also made great strides in economic modernization. In the development of cutting-edge technologies in key industries, China has caught up with the United States and Europe. China has now developed its own Silicon Valley. 70% of the world's "unicorn" companies come from the United States or China.

The economic importance of poorer countries is growing. As economic importance increases, so will the demand for global engagement. It is conceivable that issues such as poverty, disease prevention and control, financial market stability, violence and climate will be more concerned in the future than on basic Western values. Neither the United States nor the European Union has the hard and soft power needed to shape the world order. The demands for voice and shaping multilateral institutions will be different in the future. Over the years, China has shown that it is also building new multilateral institutions like the AIIB and developing a new globalization strategy. In principle, important players such as the United States, Europe, and China all want to promote the world order they understand and form alliances. It also means being open to the voices of smaller participants.

Europe must therefore play an active role in these trends. It can appear confident that it should not commit too quickly to one side or the other, but should form alliances with all parties.

Source: Reference News Network