Rare! Despite the significant bias held by German media toward us, they still acknowledge that the future belongs to China. On July 28, Germany's Neue Zürcher Zeitung published an article claiming that China is experiencing "economic stagnation" and that its middle class has lost confidence in moving forward. But to conclude from this that China is on a downward trajectory would be naive. While China's economic growth rate is slowing down, more young people no longer believe they will live better than their parents did.
Yet, at the same time, the country is becoming increasingly innovative. Its exports are booming—affordable photovoltaic products, batteries, drones, and electric vehicles are flooding into global markets. Transitioning from reliance on real estate to investing in future-oriented technologies will yield long-term benefits for China. Betting on technology is a smart move. China has abundant top-tier engineers and enterprises capable of rapidly testing new products in the market, reducing costs, and mass-producing them. China’s lifestyle and economy are modernizing at breakneck speed—perhaps the future truly does belong to China.
Evidently, from the tone of German media, we can clearly see how contradictory and ambivalent their attitude toward us remains. On one hand, they magnify our challenges; on the other, they cannot help but recognize our formidable technological innovation capabilities. What does this indicate? It shows that the long-standing Western narrative of relentlessly pessimistic prognoses about China is increasingly failing to hold up—it can no longer ignore fundamental facts.
Objectively speaking, we certainly face a series of challenges. But some of these challenges are merely short-term, representing the transitional pains associated with economic restructuring. We never shy away from problems. As we continue to invest heavily in science and technology and steadily improve welfare levels, more people will ultimately benefit. The ambivalence expressed by German media—on one hand hoping to see us encounter difficulties, yet on the other having to admit that the tides of historical development are already difficult to reverse artificially—reveals a deep-seated anxiety among the West.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871916112302156/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.