Recently, Germany passed a new proposal that makes it clear that it will not rule out Huawei's participation in the construction of Germany's 5G network. In order to ensure the implementation of this proposal, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly stated publicly that she will not be subject to any external pressure that may affect cooperation with Huawei. This firm position immediately caused displeasure in the United States. Germany is determined to cooperate with Huawei and shows no mercy to the United States. Just on the 24th of this month, German Economy Minister Altmaier bluntly questioned the United States in a program. He referred to the Prismgate incident and pointed out that even after the exposure of the Prismgate incident, Germany continued to use American equipment and maintained cooperation with the United States. He asked why not cooperate with Huawei if there is no problem with the United States? Prismgate is a U.S. global surveillance program in which several U.S. companies participate, including well-known companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple. The plan violated the privacy of countries, and even German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone call was not spared. These facts have been revealed, but even so, Germany has not taken steps to boycott American companies, let alone stop cooperating with them. However, in contrast, the United States has not been able to provide any conclusive evidence about Huawei, and can only stop other countries from cooperating with Huawei by threatening its allies.
Altmaier's rhetoric is undoubtedly brave enough to express the hearts of many, but it also naturally causes displeasure in the United States. Immediately afterwards, the US ambassador to Germany, Grenell, issued a statement attacking Germany for insulting the United States. He believes that comparing Huawei with American companies is an insult to the great American military that maintains Germany's security, as well as to the great Americans who are committed to strengthening the Western alliance. Apparently, the United States, already displeased by Altmaier's rhetoric, directly characterized Germany as a country that insulted the United States.
It is noteworthy that the U.S. response does not mention the Prism Gate incident mentioned by Altmaier. Obviously, the United States itself understands that it is in the wrong and cannot provide a morally reasonable response, so it can only criticize Germany in a vicious way, but this response has little practical effect except to show the impatience of the United States.
In recent years, tensions between Europe and the United States have become increasingly tense, with Germany being particularly striking. Germany's cooperation with Russia on the Nord Stream 2 gas project has hindered the entry of American gas into the European market. In addition, Germany has not been able to fulfill its military spending commitments in accordance with NATO regulations, and even when the United States threatened to withdraw its troops in Germany, Germany still resolutely counterattacked, saying that there was no need for American troops to be stationed. This hard-line attitude has left the United States feeling helpless.