Who would have thought that a month ago, Germany was still talking about its preparation for "de-sinicization", but a month later, its attitude directly came to a 180-degree reversal. From the local government to the federal government, these politicians and businessmen in Germany have changed from "de-sinicization" to collective "de-sinicization" and "edge". Although there is only a one-word difference, the difference between them is very different. In the middle of this month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and a delegation of the CDU League, Germany's largest opposition party, visited China one after another.
But this is not surprising, first of all, Germany is the only developed country in the world with negative growth in 2023, which is in stark contrast to Germany under Merkel's leadership. In 2023, the German economy will see its real GDP fall by at least 0.3% compared to the previous year, and overall new industrial orders will fall by 3.7% compared to the same period last year. Domestic demand is not strong, external demand is decreasing, coupled with the energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Faced with many difficulties to solve, Germany will either make adjustments in its principles and policies, or it will be caught in the current predicament and sink completely.
Looking at it now, it is clear that the Germans chose the former, as for why they came to China. The simple reason is that we are Germany's largest trading partner and the world's most industrially developed country, and if Germany wants to get out of economic difficulties and poor industrial output, where can they go but Beijing?
Secondly, the Germans had no choice at all. As one of the largest economic pillars, the importance of the automotive-related industry for Germany cannot be overstated. In fact, there are many similar countries, and Japan and South Korea are the same, and they can become developed countries, which is inseparable from selling cars. However, with the rise of our Chinese car companies, especially the rise of new energy electric vehicles, these traditional car-making countries are not very good, and there is only one Japanese car left that can survive through the American market, so the Kishida government can only hold on to the United States.
But what about Germany? Japanese car companies don't need the Chinese market, and they can barely survive by relying on the United States, but can Volkswagen? To put it mildly, it doesn't matter whether there is a Volkswagen in the Chinese market today. Therefore, Germany can only try to come to China to "reconcile relations" and restore the relations between the two countries that have fallen to the freezing point.
And China also needs countries like Germany to speak for us within the EU, defend our interests, and make the United States the only victim of "de-Sinicization". For the Biden administration, Germany is now actively promoting Sino-German cooperation and deepening Sino-German economic and trade relations, which is tantamount to giving the United States a slap in the face. As the international situation becomes more and more turbulent, China and the United States are calm on the surface, but the undercurrent in private is turbulent, and I believe everyone can feel it. By doing so, Germany is tantamount to going against the United States. And that's exactly what we're hoping for, and dismantling the relationship between the United States and its allies will help China gain more of an advantage in the "final showdown."