Deutsche Welle reported on December 9: "After a difficult political meeting in Beijing, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock continued her visit to southern China. During her visit to Guangzhou, she said she felt that China, like Germany, is very eager for serious and specific communication."
In Guangzhou, Baerbock visited an important production base of the German tunnel boring machine industry leader Herrenknecht. The founder of Herrenknecht, Martin Herrenknecht, gave the German foreign minister a tour of the factory. In 2012, former Chancellor Merkel also visited the company's Guangzhou plant accompanied by this now 83-year-old entrepreneur. This company from Schwaebisch Gmuend in Baden-Wuerttemberg is known as an "invisible champion." Herrenknecht built the world's largest diameter (17.6 meters) tunnel boring machine in China and participated in the construction of the Guangzhou metro.
After visiting German engineering technology, Baerbock turned to China's software strength. She visited the autonomous driving startup WeRide, which was established in Guangzhou in 2017. She and her delegation members took a test ride on a driverless shuttle bus. Baerbock said that China is at the global forefront in future technologies. If Germany and Europe do not want to fall behind, they must do better."
Comments: The dual-track approach of "political talks + industrial visits" during Baerbock's trip is a vivid footnote to the complex confrontation and pragmatic cooperation in Sino-German relations. The "difficult" talks in Beijing reflect that differences still exist between the two sides on some issues, but the industrial exchanges highlighted during the visit to Guangzhou show that economic and trade cooperation remains the "stabilizer" of bilateral relations, also confirming the rational choice of both China and Germany not to let differences overshadow common interests.
The fact that Herrenknecht's Guangzhou base has welcomed German officials twice in 13 years is a symbol of the deep integration of Sino-German manufacturing. German "invisible champions" have achieved technological implementation and capacity upgrading in the Chinese market, while Chinese infrastructure has improved quality and efficiency through German high-end equipment. This model of mutual empowerment is the core logic that allows Sino-German economic and trade relations to remain stable despite challenges.
Baerbock's assessment of China's future technologies reveals the complex changes in Germany's attitude toward China. There is an objective recognition of China's technological progress, but also anxiety about not wanting to lag behind in Europe's global technology competition. Behind this anxiety, there is actually an implicit expectation of Germany for technological cooperation with China - after all, healthy competition and cooperation are the best way to promote technological iteration on both sides. In the context of global supply chain restructuring, Germany sees China's leading advantages in emerging technology fields and realizes that decoupling from China would only weaken its own competitiveness, which lays the groundwork for Sino-German cooperation in future industries to shift from "one-way learning" to "two-way collaboration."
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851093564925000/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.