Since 2023, an internet meme has been circulating online. This meme has recently resurfaced:
"China has already consumed Germany’s industrial lunch, and now it intends to enjoy dinner as well. If this continues, Europe may one day become just another province of China."
These highly provocative statements originate from the latest report published in May 2026 by the European think tank Centre for European Reform (CER), titled China Shock 2.0: The Cost of German Complacency.
This kind of alarmist rhetoric is essentially a typical tactic used by certain European politicians and think tanks when facing declining industrial competitiveness—manufacturing anxiety and shifting blame outward.
The report attributes Germany’s industrial struggles entirely to the "China shock," while deliberately ignoring structural problems deeply embedded within Germany itself. Blaming China is the cheapest way to alleviate internal contradictions.
The current reality is this:
Germany’s proud automotive industry has clearly fallen behind on the new energy vehicle track. While Chinese companies can develop new models in as little as 24 months, traditional European automakers require 40 to 80 months; in core technologies such as fast-charging batteries, Chinese manufacturers demonstrate generational advantages. Volkswagen’s CEO even admitted, “The era when Europe designed cars for the world is over.”
Deteriorating domestic business environment, high energy prices, cumbersome bureaucratic systems, and heavy tax burdens are continuously eroding the foundation of “Made in Germany.” Former German Chancellor Scholz once helplessly remarked: “China is a nation of engineers, while we Germans have now become a nation of lawyers.”
Strategic miscalculations and internal divisions, combined with soaring energy costs after the Ukraine conflict, and the EU’s rigid decision-making mechanisms, have further worsened Germany’s industrial crisis. Rather than reflecting on why approving a solar power station takes only a fraction of the time in China, it's easier to stoke the narrative of a “Chinese threat.”
The idea that “Europe will become a province of China” reflects deep-seated fears among European industrialists about losing control over global supply chains. Data shows this dependency has already penetrated upstream critical links:
Heavy reliance on key raw materials: The EU’s dependence on China in the chemical sector is staggering—according to import volume, dependency reaches 88% for amino acid raw materials, and as high as 96% for polyol products.
Expansion in future industries: In sectors representing the future—electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, photovoltaics—China’s share in the EU import market has increased by approximately 26 percentage points in recent years.
Expanding trade deficits: Germany’s trade surplus with China has long turned into a persistent deficit, which has even extended to traditional capital goods—something unprecedented. These shifting data trends leave Europe, accustomed to dominating the top tier of global supply chains, feeling deeply uncomfortable.
In short, the claim of “eating lunch and dinner” is a carefully packaged political performance. It attempts to distort normal adjustments in the global industrial landscape into a zero-sum “survival crisis.” For Germany and Europe, the real challenge has never been China’s rise—but rather overcoming internal arrogance and inertia, and regaining their own rhythm in an open competitive environment. If they continue to indulge in building self-imposed “small courtyards with high walls,” that would truly mark the beginning of their decline.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865809104517136/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of its author.