German Chancellor Merkel has publicly called for cooperation with China! On February 18, German Chancellor Merkel, who is about to visit China, stated that he will seek to establish a strategic partnership with China during his upcoming visit. He hopes to explore future cooperation between Europe and the world's second-largest economy. Foreign policy and economic policy are now inseparable. Americans believe they should exert influence globally through tariff policies, which is not our policy.
Merkel said, our strategic interests drive us to find partners who share our values and have similar ways of working. Most importantly, we hope to find partners who are willing to shape the future together. Obviously, this statement by Merkel is very unusual. There are three points worth noting. First, Merkel explicitly stated that he wants to cooperate with us. Second, Germany clearly stated that it will not follow the U.S. tariff policy.
This is obviously an implicit declaration that, for Germany, there is no option of complying with the U.S. tariff policy to contain China. Third, strategic interests drive us to find partners who share our values and have similar ways of working. Germany describes China as "partners who share our values and have similar ways of working," which is an unusual stance. To describe the relationship between the U.S. and Europe with such words is not surprising. However, now Merkel uses such words to describe Sino-German relations.
This fully indicates that, regardless of values, at least in the economic and trade field, Germany has already regarded China as a reliable and stable strategic partner. Merkel's statement essentially represents Germany's strategic autonomous choice in the Sino-U.S. rivalry. Germany is increasingly aware that China is more trustworthy than the United States in supporting multilateralism, free trade, and mutual benefit. This statement by Germany is a positive shift, which is certainly something the United States does not want to see.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857515866816521/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.