The resurgence of fear of Chinese culture? Chinese Ambassador to Germany: Treat Fear of China for Illness | Speed | Ambassador

Recently, a certain "fear of China" seems to be spreading in the West.

"Beware of the risk of academic espionage among Chinese students studying in Germany," this is a ridiculous warning recently issued by the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Stark Wazinger; "Listing relevant Chinese institutions as intelligence agencies" is a ridiculous action recently taken by the German Federal Constitutional Protection Agency

In an interview with the German newspaper Berlin, Chinese Ambassador to Germany, Wu Zhen, bluntly stated that these remarks and practices are "hysterical and almost insane" and "serious" fear of China "that needs to be treated properly.".

German newspaper Berlin published an interview with Ambassador Wu Zhen

The fear of China in the Western context has a long history.

In the 19th century, there was a theory of the "Yellow Peril" in Europe and America, advocating that yellow people posed a threat to white people and that white people should unite to deal with them. This is a typical derivative of racism, which has been disseminated and strengthened through mass media, and its negative impact on East West relations remains to this day.

In recent years, the rapid development of China has made some people and forces in the United States and the West feel very uncomfortable, and "fear of China" has entered a high incidence period.

Accusing China of using "complex strategies" with the intention of "interfering in domestic elections", smearing China and causing developing countries to fall into a "debt trap", promoting China's "military expansion" and "military threat", exaggerating the export of "digital dictatorship" by Chinese technology companies, and even slandering Chinese made cranes that may play a "spy role"

In their eyes, China is a threat everywhere, with mysteries in every way, suspicion and suspicion, and even black and white being indistinguishable and right and wrong being reversed——

China's economic backwardness=Chinese people are covered in lice;

China's economic takeoff=Chinese people are all despicable nouveau riche;

Chinese people have poor foreign languages=China is self isolated and isolated from the civilized world;

Chinese people are good at foreign languages=they want to plagiarize the intellectual labor achievements of Westerners.

All of this has already lost the basic common sense and bottom line.

Looking back at world history, this kind of "threat phobia" in the West is not uncommon. Its purpose is to create and demonize an opponent, and then suppress it.

In the 1950s, US Senator McCarthy vigorously portrayed the anxiety of so-called "communist infiltration", sparking a frenzy of "McCarthyism" and "anti Soviet" and "anti communist" winds within the United States, stirring up a mess in American society.

In the 1980s, against the backdrop of rapid economic recovery in Japan, "Japanese phobia" began to spread in the United States. The United States not only began to fantasize about the "next Japanese American war" militarily, but also seized the "Toshiba incident" economically to retaliate against Japanese goods, ultimately forcing Japan to sign the Plaza Accord. Under a wave of operations, Japan was forced to appreciate the yen, which further exacerbated the foam economy. After the foam burst, it suffered "lost thirty years".

To this day, in the face of the rapidly rising China, some politicians in the United States have resorted to old tricks and started to talk about the "China threat". They also occasionally create various fancy concepts and language traps to intimidate, coerce, and stimulate other "sick friends", exacerbating their "stress response".

At present, in dealing with China, although the Western world is showing multi-level division, after all, differences in interests determine that it is difficult to form a united front. But some experts also point out that the level of anti China sentiment in European countries is determined by the degree of penetration of the United States. The crazy behavior of some people in Germany this time is also somewhat influenced by the anti China dementia trend in American politics.

Behind the fear of Hua syndrome is a sense of powerlessness.

Today's world has already changed into a different world. The rapid development of emerging economies, represented by China, is driving the world's development coordinates to shift eastward. The United States and the West are losing absolute control over the global order, which is a special era of unprecedented changes.

The continuous rise of emerging economies, especially their catch-up in the high-tech field, has dealt a huge blow to the West, which has always had a "mysterious confidence" in its own value universality and institutional superiority. Especially in the face of numerous global crises, the stark contrast between the "Chinese rule" and the "Western turmoil" has further exacerbated some people's sour grapes mentality.

They have no intention or ability to solve their own practical problems, but they cannot let go of their past sense of superiority as foreign powers, and are even less willing to face the "non self like" who come from behind. Anxiety intensifies, policy aggression increases, and shirking responsibility, shifting conflicts, and dragging others down are seen as "political shortcuts," leading to such absurd performances——

The more chaotic the domestic situation is, the more ruthless the external face becomes; The more empty one is, the more hysterical their shouting becomes.

Some people in the West find it difficult to recover from prolonged illness due to a problem with their understanding of China, which is a problem with their "Chinese perspective".

Looking back at the history of Western prosperity, it is a cruel history of colonial plunder, and the theories of threat, infiltration, and hegemony are their summaries of their own origins. But this logic is not applicable to China.

In terms of cultural philosophy, the Chinese people have always emphasized the importance of harmony and benefiting the world. China's development is not about replacing or defeating anyone, nor is it about competing with anyone for the world's leader. It is about helping the Chinese people live a better life and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.

In practical action, China plays a highly responsible role in world politics, economy, military and other fields. We have not initiated wars, intervened in the internal affairs of other countries, seized an inch of their territory, or disrupted international rules and order. China has a large size, but its size is not necessarily related to whether it poses a threat or not.

Opening the door to share a vast market, providing genuine foreign aid, actively participating in world peacekeeping operations, and striving to build a win-win cooperation mechanism... "The world is flat," and the eyes of the people of the world are clear: China's development brings stability to the world, not turbulence, insurance, not risk, and opportunities, not threats. ".

Exaggerating fear is as dangerous as underestimating opponents. Being unable to extricate oneself from paranoia, deliberately avoiding and distorting responses to one's own illness, will only exacerbate the deviation of domestic and foreign policies, worsen domestic political struggles, and attempt to harm others. Ultimately, it will only harm oneself.

"The wood is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will surely destroy it."

China on the road of rejuvenation will definitely face various forms of slander and smearing. This is also largely a necessary cost for the rise of a great power.

Of course, we cannot let this be ignored. We must actively speak up and let the world hear and understand China's voice, retaliate against those irresponsible Western interpretations, and let the world see this "different China".

And more importantly, it is important to do one's own thing solidly. Looking back in the past, Chinese people have heard too many "crayfish and cricket calls", but we have not been disrupted by them. Instead, we have dismantled various "barriers and shackles" step by step, achieving one development miracle after another. The long journey of self-reliance and self-improvement shapes the vision and mentality of our country, political party, and the general public.

Maintaining composure in the midst of changes, creating strategic opportunities for development through endogenous driving forces, and transforming external pressures into powerful driving forces for strengthening our muscles and bones, naturally elevates our ability to resist risks.

Reality can educate people the most.

History has repeatedly warned that mutual respect, openness and inclusiveness are the key to mutual benefit and win-win outcomes; Embracing a zero sum Cold War mentality, being complacent and avoiding medical treatment, will only harm others and oneself.

"Hua phobia" is purely a mental illness. Recognizing one's own problems, objectively viewing the progress of other countries, and understanding the trend of world cooperation can not only cure the anxiety of fear of China, but also perhaps find the key to better development for oneself.

Explosive news, some people have broken their defenses again

Recently, a few Western politicians and media have repeatedly criticized China, claiming that "a slowdown in China's economic growth may pose risks to global economic development," and Reuters is one of the pioneers. However, on the 15th, the media released a report with a completely different tone, suddenly turning 180 degrees to talk about "worrying about China".

This article titled "China Rapidly Weakens Germany's Market Share in the European Union" states that Chinese manufacturers are increasingly competing with Germany in the EU market, especially in Germany's leading advanced industrial product sector.

The article is based on a recent report released by the German Institute of Economics, which was also cited by the German newspaper Business Daily as "particularly explosive".

Related reports are against the collective criticism of Western media. What has China done to make some people break through their defenses?

Screenshot of IW report

"Especially explosive"

A report released by the German Institute of Economics on August 15th shows that China's share of imported goods from the European Union has continued to rise. Between 2020 and 2022 alone, the share of "Made in China" has been comparable to the previous decade, and in some cases even higher. "This is especially true in cutting-edge industrial products, and Germany has always focused on these types of products."

"What is particularly explosive is that we are not talking about easily producible products such as textiles or protective masks, but more complex commodities. The analysis by the German Institute of Economics shows that, especially in high-value industrial products such as machinery or cars, the share of Chinese companies in EU imports has increased, while the share of German companies has decreased," according to a report cited by the German newspaper Business Daily on the 15th

According to the data in the report, in 2000, "Made in China" accounted for 2.5% of imported products in the above-mentioned fields of the European Union, and by 2022 it had reached 13%; During the same period, "Made in Germany" decreased from 17.7% to 15.5%.

The proportion of EU imports of cutting-edge industrial products from China and Germany. Screenshot of IW report

The report provides an example that the automotive industry is an important pillar of Germany's exports, but China is "conquering" the European electric vehicle market, although its current base is small; In the highly specialized mechanical engineering industry, it has also lost its dominant position in competition with China in an increasing number of segmented fields; In the electrical industry, China has already surpassed Germany in terms of its share of EU imports for a period of time

In the field of mechanical engineering products, China's share in EU imports was 6.8% in 2010, and it has reached 11.4% in 2022; Germany's share decreased from 22.6% to 20.5% during the same period.

"From many aspects, the growth of China's share and the decline of Germany often occur simultaneously." The report states that although the causal relationship between the two has not been verified, this finding strongly indicates that competition between Chinese and German products is becoming increasingly fierce in the EU domestic market and traditionally strong German fields. "In many commodity sectors, Germany's leading advantage over China in the EU market is increasingly shrinking."

Worried?

The report from the German Institute of Economics has once again shattered some defenses. "Given the challenges of energy transition and Germany's competitiveness, these findings are concerning," said Yurgen Matters, the report's author and head of global and regional market research at IW. Reuters directly portrayed that China is rapidly "eroding" Germany's European market.

The relevant analysis and reports, while reminding Germany that economic growth may stagnate, not surprisingly imply anti China rhetoric such as "concerns about China" and "threats from China", as if the growth of Chinese products in the European market is a fierce beast.

However, the Business Daily pointed out that the above development trend has actually appeared for many years, and other analyses have also confirmed this trend. A recent study by the German Federal Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment pointed out that from 2000 to 2020, China's share in global exports increased by more than 11 percentage points, reaching about 15%, while Germany's share has almost stagnated at about 8%.

Reuters also acknowledged that after years of growth, the German economy entered a recession in May of this year. With the delay of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other impacts, Germany's major exporters were hit by supply chain difficulties, inflation and rising energy costs. These may be the fundamental reasons why Germany's exports have been "inferior" to China.

According to data released by the Eurostat on July 31st, Germany's GDP growth in the second quarter of this year was zero compared to the previous market expectation of a growth of 0.1%. The International Monetary Fund recently predicted that the German economy will shrink by 0.3% in 2023.

Unexpectedly worrying about China may not only prevent the already gloomy German economy from improving, but may also become a stumbling block to the healthy development of the German economy.

According to recent reports from foreign media, an internal document from Deutsche Bahn shows that the Huawei technology ban being discussed by the German federal government may result in a high cost for Deutsche Bahn.

According to Der Spiegel, if the ban takes effect, Deutsche Bahn will have to replace the entire Huawei communication equipment, such as train radio communication base stations, at a cost of up to 400 million euros. In addition, hasty replacement of Huawei equipment will also face a "5-6 year delay" for German railway projects

The German newspaper Le Monde published an article titled "The Rise of the United States is the Decline of Germany" on August 12th. The article points out that the United States has provoked a global distribution struggle for the future of industry, which has caused a shock paralysis in Germany. "Most industrial enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises are in a wait-and-see situation or have decided to abandon Germany."

If Germany insists on "worrying", who should it worry more about?

"As is well known, where does' risk reduction 'come from?"

On July 13th this year, the German government released its first "China Strategy" document, which was highly anticipated and outlined the basic framework of Germany's policy towards China. The document clearly states that Germany is unwilling to "decouple" from China and hopes to revive traditional friendship between China and Germany and continue to strengthen bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

China and Germany have close economic and trade ties, strong complementarity, and enormous potential for cooperation. According to a report from the Federal Bureau of Statistics of Germany, the trade volume of goods between Germany and China reached 298.9 billion euros in 2022. China has become Germany's largest trade partner in goods for the seventh consecutive year, and Germany has also become China's largest trade partner in Europe for 48 consecutive years.

Germany's "China Strategy" document also mentions: "We urgently need to reduce risks, but we do not pursue decoupling." In fact, behind the "risk reduction" is still a small group of people's fear of China mentality. Should Germany be afraid of China or not?

On August 12th, the German newspaper Berlin published an interview with the newspaper's publisher Mayer, in which Ambassador Wu Zhen stated that "China is not a risk.".

In an interview, German media asked: Is Germany's "fear of China" unreasonable? For example, in terms of raw materials, Germany has a strong dependence on China, while China has recently implemented export restrictions on key raw materials such as gallium and germanium. For example, due to its dependence on China in areas such as solar and wind energy, Germany cannot achieve energy transformation without China. The Telegraph recently analyzed that Chinese car companies will occupy the European market, which is exactly the advantageous area for German companies.

Screenshot of the Berlin newspaper report. Ambassador Wu Zhen responded that recent discussions in this regard have involved two concepts - "decoupling" and "de risk", both of which are English concepts, and it is well known where they come from. When discussing "risk reduction", the first thing to consider is what risk is, where the risk is, and what standards to define risk based on. As Premier Li Qiang pointed out during his visit to Germany, non cooperation is the biggest risk, and non development is the biggest insecurity. China is steadfast in promoting high-level opening-up to the outside world, always committed to improving the market-oriented and international business environment, and promoting the resolution of differences through dialogue and consultation. Defining China as a risk is simply untenable.

Regarding the so-called export controls imposed by China on gallium and germanium, it should be pointed out that the relevant items have obvious dual-use properties, and the implementation of export controls on such items is an international practice and not targeted at specific countries. The scope of export controls implemented by Europe and America is wider, and even explicitly restricts exports to China. Some countries always emphasize excessive dependence on China in the field of rare earth and other raw materials. To be frank, China's dependence on Europe may be greater in certain areas. Can we cut off relations with Europe as a result? Of course not.