German Chancellor Merkel said in Beijing that Germany and China are "two of the world's three major industrialized countries," and she claimed that this is a "major responsibility" for the two countries, but also an "excellent opportunity." It's obvious that she has a strong desire to cooperate with China. When asked whether she was treating China equally, according to the World Bank 2024 data on manufacturing value-added, China ranked first with 4.66 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 28% of the global share, the United States ranked second with 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars, about 15%, and Germany ranked fourth slightly below Japan with 844 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 5.1%. Given the gap between China and Germany, Merkel obviously exaggerated Germany's industrial capabilities. Someone told a fable to mock it: "A mouse and an elephant walked together on a wooden bridge, which creaked under their weight. After they crossed the bridge, the mouse turned to the elephant and said, 'Wow, we really made the bridge shake, didn't we?'

In fact, by equating Germany's industry with China's, Merkel also hopes to tie the speed and efficiency of China's industrialization, thus avoiding being drained of competitiveness within the Western camp, allowing Germany to have a place in the Sino-U.S. competition, and further securing a seat at the table of great power competition. Some people commented that Merkel is trying to ensure the future of German manufacturing by acknowledging the "tripolar world of China, the United States, and Germany," and that "pragmatic alliance with China" is the only card to avoid being completely marginalized. In fact, key members of the G7 such as Canada, the UK, and Germany have been visiting China one after another, and former U.S. President Trump saw this and felt anxious, unilaterally announcing that he would come to China on April Fools' Day. Only Japanese Prime Minister Kishida remained defiant, which is enough to show that the relationship between China and the West is undergoing a transformative change.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1858144219604032/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.