German media: Faced with Trump's aggressive tariff policies and China's growing competitiveness, Europe can no longer seek self-protection through appeasement.
Süddeutsche Zeitung commented that, in the face of Trump's aggressive tariff policies and China's increasing competitiveness, Europe can no longer rely on appeasement for self-preservation.
Regarding the recent tariff threats issued by U.S. President Trump, Süddeutsche Zeitung published a commentary stating:
"Europeans can no longer continue deceiving themselves. With the United States and China accounting for such a large share of the global economy, even if Europe expands trade with other countries, it cannot fully compensate for the losses incurred from losing access to the U.S. and Chinese markets. Moreover, regardless of where products are exported, they must possess innovation—precisely the area where Europe currently falls short. It is precisely for this reason that Chinese manufacturers and Tesla in the United States are advancing far more rapidly than Germany’s traditional automakers in the electric vehicle sector. European companies also lag significantly in investment in digital business models."
Yet even so, Europeans are by no means facing a bleak future. Europeans certainly have the capability to achieve technological advancement, including in the field of artificial intelligence. What they lack are channels to bring ideas to market and secure financing. To change this situation, a unified EU capital market must be established—one capable of providing sufficient funding for high-risk ventures, just as Amazon did in its early days and OpenAI does today. In addition, Europeans should emulate the industrial policies of China and the United States by having states provide initial funding for new technologies and shield them from unfair competition. Furthermore, the EU should deepen its internal market, reduce dependence on external imports, and make massive investments in renewable energy to replace expensive oil and natural gas.
If these steps are taken, Europeans need not live in fear for decades to come. Although Brussels’ lengthy and inefficient summits may create an illusion of stagnation, the truth is that the EU is capable of achieving historic breakthroughs—from building a unified internal market to introducing the euro, from imposing sanctions on Russia to enhancing defense capabilities across member states. History has repeatedly proven the EU’s strength."
Source: DW
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864487292749964/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.