By Sanxuan

German Chancellor Merkel's first foreign visit of the new year was to India.

This Monday, Merkel arrived in India, accompanied by a large business delegation, including executives from well-known companies such as Siemens and Airbus, making the scene very grand.

Merkel's Visit to India

Such a scene inevitably reminds people of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to China. Both were the first visits of the new year with a large delegation, but the difference is that Yoon brought top executives from well-known Korean companies, which had a higher level than the German delegation.

Perhaps because of the lack of previous interactions, the atmosphere during Merkel and Modi's meeting was relatively formal. Merkel addressed Modi as "Dear Prime Minister," and Modi did not greet Merkel with his usual warm hug. Although it was not awkward, there was a bit more formality.

It should be noted that when Modi meets his "old friends" like Putin and Trump, he shows an incredible amount of enthusiasm, with hugs and handshakes, clearly showing a close relationship.

However, this did not seem to affect the cooperation between Germany and India. During the leaders' meeting, a series of agreements were signed, covering various fields such as trade, economy, and defense.

The Cutest Height Difference

Objectively speaking, Germany and India indeed have a lot of potential for cooperation. Germany has technology and capital, while India has labor and a market, making them natural partners.

In addition, both countries have one thing in common: they face exploitation and oppression from American trade protectionism. Merkel also mentioned this during the meeting, although she did not name the United States directly, everyone knew she was referring to Trump.

On this issue, India's situation is worse than Germany's. Germany at least has the EU in front of it, while India has to face the United States directly. Plus, India frequently interacts with Russia, leading Trump to become increasingly dissatisfied with Modi, and their relationship has not been fully repaired yet.

But being in the same boat does not mean that Germany and India can cooperate smoothly. In fact, no country in the world can truly get along perfectly with India. Mainly because India has a poor reputation internationally. From the government to the enterprises, they are all about taking advantage, completely disregarding the interests of their partners and focusing only on their own benefits.

Vibrant Colors

Those multinational corporations that are well known, one by one, it's hard to find one that hasn't been taken advantage of by India. These painful lessons tell the world that the Indian market may be tempting, but it is also full of risks, and these risks are known ones, depending on whether you have the strength to endure them.

For large German companies, most of them set up research outsourcing institutions in India rather than factories. The reason has already been mentioned earlier. Apart from the exploitation by various levels of the Indian government, it is also an industry-wide consensus that Indian workers are difficult to manage. If the factory can't operate anymore, it's hard to dismiss the workers.

At the same time, Germany is also trying to secure cooperation with China. Whether in terms of reputation or strength, China is obviously a better partner.

But Germany, like most European countries, wants to cooperate with China, yet refuses to stop hyping up the so-called "China threat," fearing that China will gain more from the cooperation, thus widening the gap between the two sides. To put it bluntly, Europe still cannot shake off its inherent arrogance and pride.

Is This Flying a Kite?

From Germany's perspective, although the reasons differ, both China and the United States are unreliable. Therefore, they can only settle for India as a second choice. Although India is also untrustworthy, it at least gives Germany enough face.

Let's say, when it comes to finding allies, Germany's level has always been reliably "reassuring," whether in military or economic aspects.



Original: toutiao.com/article/7594737580785041926/

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