German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will come to China, and the CEO of Siemens, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz may accompany him

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An ultra-luxury delegation is coming to China.

If nothing else, like the visit more than a year ago, in the end, because there were too many entrepreneurial giants, the leadership plane could not sit down, and German Chancellor Scholz had to limit the list.

That's right, I'm talking about Scholz's visit to China! According to the Western media, it was later in April.

But the registration was very enthusiastic.

Siemens, Covestro, BASF, Voith, DHL, Zeiss, BMW, thyssenkrupp, Mercedes-Benz, Merck, Volkswagen, and many more, just about every German CEO or CEO you know, want to be with them.

According to Reuters, the final list has not yet been finalized, but at least dozens of people have confirmed their participation, and the list is likely to continue to grow.

This may be the largest business delegation in recent years.

Why so positive?

The super charm of China's big market!

Although in the past year, in Germany and the European Union, there has been some murmur in China policy. Some German politicians preach "de-risking" as well.

But the figures are straightforward: China has been Germany's largest trading partner for nearly a decade, and last year German direct investment in China reached a record 11.9 billion euros.

Politicians can do things, but German entrepreneurs know very well that Germany cannot do without China and cannot "decouple" from China.

I remember that a year ago, Martin Wansley, director general of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, bluntly said that secession from China would lead to the loss of prosperity in Germany.

Therefore, during his last visit to China, Scholz made it very clear to the Chinese leaders that China is an important economic and trade partner of Germany and Europe, and that Germany firmly supports trade liberalization, economic globalization, and opposes "decoupling......

Please note: not enemies, not adversaries, partners, against "decoupling".

The interests are there, and whoever "decouples" is stupid.

That visit was naturally fruitful. I won't talk much about the economic and trade fields. Scholz himself said that the Chinese leader and he have clearly declared that nuclear weapons cannot be used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is the "biggest takeaway" of his visit to China, and that "this trip alone is worth it." ”

Now, Scholz is here again.

What do you think?

In my personal opinion, it's still a superficial three points.

First, interests, the key is interests.

There is no need for us to shy away from it, because between countries, interests are the most important.

So, we see that a year and a half ago, Scholz withstood the pressure and became the first Western leader to visit China after the 20th Party Congress.

So, we see that a year and a half later, Scholz came back and brought a more luxurious German delegation.

Without interests, the Germans would be so zealous?

So, be more open, be more inclusive, do your own things well, make the economy active, and let the world see the huge benefits of interacting with China, you see, which country wants to completely "decouple" from China?

Second, China also has a lot of cards.

We must also realize that in this world, economy and trade are very important, but economy and trade are not the whole story.

I remember that during my last visit, after Scholz returned to China, what he was most excited about was the consensus between China and Germany on the nuclear crisis.

This is also very simple, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has directly affected the geopolitics of the West, and the risk of nuclear war has made Germany and the West full of anxiety.

Security is the biggest pain point in Germany and many Western countries.

This also reminds us that economy and trade are the foundation, but other aspects cannot be ignored, as one of the five permanent China, we also have a lot of space, a lot of cards.

Third, Scholz is not simple.

is not as flamboyant as Macron, let alone eloquent as Sunak, the bald Scholz is the appearance of an uncle next door.

In German politics, Scholz is not very strong. Some of the Greens' ministers, such as Foreign Minister Baerbock, have always been fond of contradicting him.

During my last visit to China, I said that in the general public opinion environment in the West at that time, did you say that Scholz was constrained, was there any pressure, and did he have any concerns?

There must be some of them.

But after weighing it again and again, he still resolutely went, which is the judgment and courage of a politician. In the end, the results were fruitful.

I remember that in Beijing at that time, reading the Xinhua News Agency's press release, the Chinese leader said to Scholz: I appreciate a point of view of former German Chancellor Schmidt, "Politicians should accept those that cannot be changed with serenity, change those that can be changed with courage, and distinguish the difference between them with wisdom......

Schmidt and Merkel must have had courage in the past, but now it's up to Scholz.

Finally, a few more digressions.

In the past few days, when US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited China, we saw that the old lady got off the plane with a bag on her shoulder and a bag in her hand.

Yellen's propositions are certainly on the position of the United States, and some of them are impossible for us to accept, but the old lady is so easy-going and always carries her own bag, which is still somewhat awe-inspiring.

Scholz is the same, I see that whether he is going abroad for a meeting or on a plane, he always likes to carry a bag, not only himself. Moreover, this bag is quite old.

Scholz, who is carrying a bag, is indeed a big uncle, but it is not simple.