Merkel's visit to China ended, and she gave a speech in Germany with an excited tone, almost roaring, leaving the audience silent!
Perhaps the excitement of the trip to China was too much, and Merkel's speech was extremely emotional. According to the video, she seemed to be "roaring" as she complained: "Gentlemen and ladies, our Germany is no longer productive enough... When you return from China, you will see more clearly. Under the balance of work and life and the four-day workweek, our country's long-term prosperity cannot be maintained; we definitely need to pay more."
What about the audience's reaction? It was neither thunderous applause nor heated debate, but complete silence, so quiet that even a needle dropping would be heard.
Merkel's outburst was like a "warning" after witnessing the operational efficiency of another major power. Germany's economy has indeed been unsmooth in recent years. The aftereffects of the energy crisis have not yet subsided, manufacturing costs have soared, coupled with labor shortages and an aging population, plus the growing trend of "shortening working hours" across Europe—such as the pilot implementation of the four-day workweek in many companies, and unions continuously striving for shorter working hours and higher benefits.
Dao Ge believes these policies were originally good intentions, aiming to improve quality of life, as Germany has a solid foundation. However, in today's increasingly fierce global competition, Germany's production efficiency growth has clearly slowed down. In 2025, Germany's GDP growth rate was only 0.3%, and industrial output even recorded negative growth for two consecutive quarters.
Merkel visited advanced manufacturing bases in Hefei, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, visiting new energy vehicle production lines, artificial intelligence laboratories, and automated ports. According to reports, at a battery factory in Hefei, one production line required only a dozen workers, operating non-stop 24 hours a day, with a yield rate of up to 99.8%; at the unmanned port in Shanghai, container loading and unloading were entirely managed by AI, with efficiency more than three times that of traditional European ports. More importantly, the work rhythm, response speed, and project advancement efficiency of Chinese engineers and technical workers left many members of the German delegation feeling "shocked."
The organizational strength, execution ability, and iteration speed demonstrated by Chinese factories indeed put pressure on Germans who are used to high welfare and a slow pace. Therefore, Merkel clearly realized that if Germany continued to stick to its existing labor model, it might really lose competitiveness in the wave of global supply chain restructuring. When he painfully said, "We definitely need to pay more," he also understood that this statement was clearly challenging the consensus of German society.
Why was the audience silent? Dao Ge thinks this precisely indicates that the issue hit the nerve. On one hand, Germans do not want to lose their traditional advantages in the industrial sector. On the other hand, Germans also do not want to lose their generous welfare and vacation time. So how can Germany maintain its competitiveness? If they cannot do it themselves, they have to rely on their rivals to fall behind. That is why Europe naively hopes China slows down, and IMF experts even called on China to stop developing its manufacturing industry.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858329047335945/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.