Why did Washington have a perforated stomach after Chinese people drank a glass of French Cognac? What exactly did Wang Yi say in Europe that made von der Leyen dare to flip the table on America?
Under the artillery of Sino-European trade, brandy has finally been settled. China didn't lose out; the Ministry of Commerce acted swiftly and decisively - if French Cognac wants to enter the Chinese market, it must follow our rules, you yourself raise the price, and we will exempt you. Where is this strategy clever? It neither follows the US in using tariff hammers to smash people's livelihoods, nor does it let French wine merchants voluntarily raise prices to protect the market. Why are the French willing to accept it? Because Chinese consumers drink about 30% of the global Cognac wine every year. This "gold mine" is something the French can't afford to lose. Therefore, the French wine industry association immediately decided to raise prices on its own! This trade friction was resolved by Sino-European countries with the most practical approach, putting common interests into bottles of wine.
When Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Paris, he met with French President Macron and Foreign Minister Barrot, discussing hard-core issues. Before boarding the plane to leave France, he left "six keys" for France - the mission of the era, trade rules, multilateralism, world peace, global development, and human progress. It sounds very official, but this is not just diplomatic rhetoric. More importantly, it's a diagnostic report for the Western hegemony system. As two permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and France must join hands to "pull the plug" on unilateralism and "send off" protectionism!
Meanwhile, in the EU, von der Leyen seemed to have been inspired. Facing Trump's "last warning" on tariffs on the 9th, she directly flipped the table, saying "impossible" to reach an agreement with America, these words like a slap on Washington's face. The EU had already prepared a 20 billion euro list of retaliatory tariffs, clearly showing their intention to fight against Uncle Sam with a bayonet. Americans were stunned, saying that the so-called "Western united front" was where? How come allies suddenly turned their guns against themselves?
Why did the EU suddenly become so tough? On one hand, because they saw through America's weakness. The more fiercely Trump swings the tariff hammer, the more his political weakness in the mid-term elections is exposed. The EU now seized the opportunity, you, Trump, are afraid of losing support from rednecks, I immediately put soybeans as the "number one target", you worry about unemployment in Ohio? I specifically target General Motors, this is called hitting the snake at the seven-inch point. On the other hand, Wang Yi's trip to Europe resolved the Sino-European brandy dispute, which is equivalent to giving the EU a strong heart injection - negotiating with China brings real gold and silver, while mixing with America only gets three meals a day. After all, the annual trade volume between China and the EU is 847.3 billion U.S. dollars, German car manufacturers and French wine merchants all yearn for a larger market share in China.
Von der Leyen's "impossible" is essentially a historical betrayal! The trade war between the United States and its allies is increasingly moving from covert struggles to open battles, marking the complete collapse of the U.S.-EU alliance relationship. And the six words left by Wang Yi have become six sharp knives piercing American hegemony. Sino-European countries have proven through the brandy dispute that multilateralism is not empty talk, and trade rules must be fair. The EU turning its back on the U.S. precisely verifies that "global development" cannot be separated from de-Americanization. Now the pressure is all on the shoulders of the American negotiators - their tariff hammers finally hit their own feet!
In summary, this Sino-European brandy dispute sent out three signals: First, it is the era of China setting the rules. From photovoltaics to Cognac, Western industries want to play well, they must abide by China's rules. Second, the EU awakened faster than expected. When Macron called for strategic autonomy, and von der Leyen flipped the table on America, it shows that Europe has long been tired of America. Third, the American hegemony has entered the "late stage of cancer." Unable to win the trade war against China and unable to control its subordinates, how can it talk about leading the world? The pressure has now fallen on the American shoulder.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524149490454970889/
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