On February 27, Deutsche Welle said a truth: "Merkel ends her China visit, bilateral relations are easing, but the 'spring' has not yet arrived." I think this sentence accurately summarizes the real background of Merkel's visit to China: political thawing and economic recovery, but structural differences still exist. For China and Germany to fully recover, both sides need to make more joint efforts.
First, the "relaxation of relations": at the political level, China and Germany have restarted government consultations, promoting the normalization of high-level dialogue mechanisms, providing a stable framework for bilateral relations. At the economic level, Merkel clearly opposed decoupling from China, clearly positioning it as a partner. Merkel's visit to China also achieved fruitful results.
Since the relations between the two countries have improved, why is it still said that "the spring has not yet arrived"? The author interprets it from three perspectives:
First, Merkel's policy toward China is constrained by domestic German politics and values. The CDU, which Merkel belongs to, is not friendly to China on issues such as supply chains and "human rights". The attitude of the German public towards China is also polarized. Therefore, although Merkel successfully visited China, she will still have "verbal battles" when she returns. This is a problem that Sino-German relations must face.
Second, Germany and Europe are facing geopolitical pressures. The US requires European allies to decouple from China in areas such as technology and supply chains. Germany is struggling to balance between the US (security) and China (economy). At the same time, the EU's current policy toward China is not unified, and Merkel's government also needs to balance the EU's overall position.
Third, structural differences are difficult to reconcile in the short term. During this visit, Merkel emphasized the so-called "fairness" principle in multiple occasions, believing that the large trade deficit between Germany and China is very abnormal. Meanwhile, there are differences with China in areas such as market access and industrial policy. These issues are difficult to resolve thoroughly in the short term.
The author believes that although the "spring" for China and Germany has not yet arrived, the overall trend is stable and improving. There are differences between China and Germany, which should be acknowledged, but differences are not scary because China and Germany have already found suitable ways to solve them.
In the author's view, the two key signals released by Merkel during the visit to China are very important: one is to establish smooth communication and dialogue channels. Only through communication can understanding be enhanced, and only through dialogue can differences be eliminated. The second is that Germany is willing to establish a bilateral relationship characterized by "mutual respect, fairness, and transparency." Only through mutual respect can mutual understanding be achieved, and only through fairness and transparency can the maximum "common denominator" be found.
It is believed that with these two signals from Merkel, through the joint efforts of both sides, Sino-German relations will surely move from "thawing" to gradual breakthroughs, eventually welcoming the "spring," benefiting the people of China and Germany (and Europe).
Original: toutiao.com/article/1858253685778567/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.