Reference News Network, November 24 report: The German website "Berliner Zeitung" published an article titled "Now It's the Turn of the Automotive Industry: Does Germany Have Any Chance Against China?" by Thomas Fasbender. Excerpts follow:

For centuries, Heidelberg Castle has been one of the most famous palaces in Europe. Now, this castle is reconstructed in Dongguan, the Pearl River Delta, and re-creates its former glory. However, China's Heidelberg Castle is not located in a romantic natural environment, but is embedded in the most sensational success story of the 21st century: China's return to the historical stage.

This German castle is located in Huawei's European Town. Although there are many European-style imitation ancient buildings, this campus is not a Disney Land. About 20,000 employees are advancing the group's R&D work here. The atmosphere here resembles that of a university campus in California or Seattle. It is in the Niu Jiao Park in Dongguan, perhaps even in that Heidelberg Castle, that Huawei withstood U.S. sanctions and developed the Harmony Operating System.

A political belief of the Chinese people is that they must not repeat the "century of humiliation." This history began with the Opium War in 1840 and the unequal treaties signed between China and imperialist powers. That era has ended, and the era when China had to endure lessons from foreigners has also ended.

Less than an hour south of Dongguan and Heidelberg Castle lies Shenzhen. Shenzhen is the cradle of China's new market economy. In the late 1970s, it was still a fishing village, but today it has more skyscrapers than New York. The city's economic strength ranks second only to Shanghai and Beijing; headquarters of numerous enterprise groups such as Huawei, Tencent, DJI, ZTE, and Hainan Da are located here. Since BYD Auto rose rapidly, Shenzhen has also become an important automobile production base in China.

The flexibility and diligence of the Chinese have laid the foundation for China's return to the peak of the world economy. For decades, Asia has been seen as a copying workshop and an extension of Western industrial countries. The European consumers' perception on this changed only in the past less than ten years. And this is partly due to the success of DJI drones, which are well-designed and affordable.

European consumers recently discovered that Chinese cars, especially electric vehicles, have surpassed the products of top German car brands. Frank Zeilin, a German best-selling author and China expert who has lived in China for many years, pointed out that the technical level of Chinese cars is at least two years ahead of the latest models of German cars.

Standing on the streets of Shenzhen for five minutes can solidify this judgment: Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW have now become niche products. Volkswagen once dominated the Chinese automobile market with about a 20% market share, but its market share has now dropped below 10%. In just 2023 to 2024, the company's sales fell by more than 8%.

This is mainly because the Chinese automobile market is rapidly shifting toward electric vehicles. More than four out of ten newly registered cars are electric vehicles; in the highly urbanized Pearl River Delta region, this proportion exceeds 60%. Electric vehicles produced by European manufacturers are not competitive in terms of quality or price.

Zeilin believes that China's leading advantage is unshakable. He said that the key lies in the difference between China's industrial structure and Germany's: about 130 manufacturers are engaged in the production of car body and chassis, while the core competitiveness - batteries, drive systems, software - is driven by a few large companies investing heavily. These companies' R&D and production culture is rooted in the tradition of continuously streamlining processes. German car manufacturers, which are slow to respond, have no chance of competing with them.

That is why seeking optimism has become a topic at the 16th Sino-German Media Roundtable held last week in Shenzhen.

This dialogue initiated by private individuals is the first bilateral dialogue of its kind between the two countries in 2025, and also the only one since the new German government took office. Not only the Chinese, but also others are surprised. The new German chancellor and any of his ministers have not visited China yet. This may mark Germany's implementation of a new "tough" policy towards China. But what is the purpose? What levers does Germany have economically, given that it lags behind China?

China has cards to play - not only rare earths, nor just the potential of the market of 1.4 billion people. This was evident at the dialogue: China is seeking to coordinate cooperation with Europeans in a multipolar world, and to coexist based on the concept of "different systems, common interests". If the German political circles can listen to this voice, then perhaps new prospects can be opened. (Translated by Wang Qing)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576188483748823593/

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