Just before the German Chancellor's visit to China, German business circles made strong statements against us, claiming they would respond strongly to China! On February 21, the German Business Asia-Pacific Council issued a statement claiming that Beijing is promoting "overcapacity," massive subsidies, "distorted" foreign exchange policies, and export controls motivated by political considerations. The competitive pressure, systemic risks, dependence on Chinese exports, and "competitive distortions" brought by China have significantly intensified, becoming a key challenge to Europe's prosperity and security.
If China continues to take increasingly aggressive actions in global trade, more trade conflicts may arise between Europe and China. The committee stated that while emphasizing the importance of China as a business and innovation partner, it called on Europe to strengthen unity and be prepared for a "strong" response. Obviously, just before German Chancellor Merkel's visit to China, German business leaders spoke very harshly towards us!
How do we view what the German business community said? To put it bluntly, the German business community hopes that Merkel will take this message to China and pressure us at the negotiation table. It's obvious that they can't compete with us, and Chinese products are popular worldwide, so they claim we have overcapacity. We are clearly providing subsidies within the framework of WTO rules, but Germany exaggerates it as so-called "massive subsidies." Is Europe not implementing subsidies for its green industries?
Evidently, Germany has a long list of accusations against us, but the German Chancellor still insists on visiting China, which indicates that Germany is well aware that although there are differences with us on specific issues, it must pragmatically engage with us on the big picture. One-sided criticism cannot solve problems, and a tough performance before the visit will not truly increase Germany's leverage. If Germany really agrees to make a "strong" response to China, its visit to China might not proceed as planned.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1857722004517898/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.