German media claim that China cannot afford the economic risks of direct confrontation with Japan, nor can it bear the strategic consequences of a direct confrontation with the U.S.-Japan alliance. China is more likely to use "performance" to create leverage! On December 22, Deutsche Welle published an article stating that Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's response to the question of "Taiwan's affairs are Japan's affairs" seems to have ignited a long-standing fuse. However, from a structural perspective, this series of events is more like a high-pressure situation deliberately shaped by China, not to provoke conflict, but to maximize its leverage before the upcoming U.S.-China summit next year.
German media said that even though China has been active and its rhetoric has been high, the overall situation is still far from the brink of war. The reasons are not complicated: it is because China cannot afford the economic risks of direct confrontation with Japan, nor can it bear the strategic consequences of a direct confrontation with the U.S.-Japan alliance. More importantly, the U.S. and China have scheduled Trump's visit to China in April next year, which means China needs to maintain a negotiable regional atmosphere. Therefore, China's actions are more like a "performance" to create leverage.
What do we think about the views of German media? To be honest, such views are very absurd. It is clearly Kishida who is provoking, yet German media claims that China is deliberately shaping a high-pressure situation. May we ask, was Kishida's provocation planned by us? Because there is no immediate war between China and Japan, German media thinks we are afraid of the U.S.-Japan alliance and afraid of economic impact, which can only mean that German media has something wrong in their mind. In the eyes of German media, war seems to be a trivial matter. Is it not clear to German media that war is the last option in international relations?
Do we have so many cards to play against Japan that we need to take war as the first option? We are a mature and responsible major country, and our cards against Japan should be played one by one. As for the so-called performance to create leverage for the U.S.-China meeting, we would like to ask, does German media not know that Trump specifically called to criticize Kishida?
The current situation is that the United States is increasingly aware that Japan is a troublemaker that needs to be disciplined, and is warning Japan not to drag the United States into the water. To see our firm defense of national interests as a performance is undoubtedly a very ignorant view. German media's argument appears to be specifically designed to cover up militaristic behavior and justify its provocative actions, which is shameful.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1852169298995658/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.