According to the Observer, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Protection Habeck will lead a business delegation to visit China.
Before leaving, the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection said that the focus of Habeck's visit to China was to explain to China that Germany's economic and trade policies are not in line with those of the European Union, and that Germany is also seeking to diversify its energy sources to avoid risks.
In addition, the EU imposes "countervailing duties" on China's new energy electric vehicles, which will also be one of the core issues, Habeck has pointed out more than once that he opposes the EU's punitive tariffs on China's new energy electric vehicles, because if China introduces reciprocal counter-sanctions, it will have a huge negative impact on the German economy, because the Chinese market is one of the largest and most important markets for German cars.
German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Habeck
In addition, Habeck said before leaving that China is an indispensable force on the global political stage, and that China is an indispensable partner in global issues, including "climate change", so it is important for both countries to maintain dialogue between China and Germany, and Germany has no idea of "decoupling" from China.
Therefore, it is widely believed that the purpose of Habeck's visit is to act as a mediator between China and Europe, to resolve the trade dispute between China and Europe, and to explain to China Germany's attitude on this issue, so as not to affect the economic and trade relations between China and Germany.
However, judging from Habeck's statement in South Korea, Habeck seems to have more purpose behind his "praise" for China.
Habeck's itinerary is not only to China, but also to South Korea, which he first visited on June 19, and Habeck's remarks in South Korea are at odds with the focus of his visit.
On June 20, Habeck said in an interview with South Korean reporters that South Korea's economy is very similar to Germany's, focusing on the development of foreign trade, and the economic development of Germany and South Korea depends on an open market and curbing the rise of trade protectionism. At the same time, Habeck also said that Germany and South Korea also share the same goal of getting rid of dependence on China, expanding the supply of raw materials, and reducing dependence on China's key products.
But the question is, is it possible for Germany and South Korea to get rid of the so-called "dependence" on China? The answer is no. If Germany really wants to get rid of its dependence on China, then the German government will not oppose the EU's measures to impose tariffs on China's new energy electric vehicles, and the purpose of Germany's move is not to keep China, the world's largest single market, otherwise Habeck will not have this visit to China.
South Korea is unlikely to do the same. South Korea is extremely dependent on other raw material sources for its raw material imports, and China is also South Korea's largest trading partner. The trilateral summit between China, Japan, and South Korea promoted by South Korea is itself an attempt to repair relations with China and strengthen trade with China.
Sino-German relations
On the premise that South Korea and Germany are more dependent on the Chinese market, they also want to reduce their "dependence" on China's key products, which actually shows Germany's attitude of "both wanting and wanting", on the one hand, it does not dare to offend the United States and actively cooperates with the United States' "de-risking" strategy towards China. On the other hand, out of its own national interests, in the case of the overall recession of the eurozone, it seeks China, the largest trading partner, to inject new impetus into Germany's economic development.
Judging from Habeck's statement and actions, Germany's ultimate goal for China is to weaken its economic and trade relations with China as much as possible on the premise of maintaining China's strong single market, specifically to reduce imports to China on the premise of ensuring exports to China.
This also indirectly reflects the problem that the current Scholz government in Germany does not have Merkel's political skills. In order to tie the EU to the chariot, the United States created problems such as the European debt crisis, the Syrian crisis, and the decoupling of the United Kingdom, plus a Crimea incident, all of which were resolved by Merkel without exception, and the United States can be said to have nothing to do with Europe.
In the face of the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Scholz did not show Schroeder's strategic vision, nor Merkel's political skills. With the intensification of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Germany was also tied to the chariot by the United States, and with it, it lost its independence in economic policy and began to serve the global strategy of the United States. And Habeck's statement in South Korea is a product of this background.
Although Germany is still the economic leader in the European Union, but in the world, the development of the German economy has begun to lag behind the times, Germany in the Internet, 5G, artificial intelligence and new energy and other future industries, it can be said that there has been no achievement, these areas have become the core areas of Sino-US competition, and Germany is proud of the traditional car, in the development and growth of new energy electric vehicles, is destined to become a background board, Germany's global economic influence has become inevitable.
In this context, Germany is still seeking to become a follower of the global strategy of the United States, can the United States provide the impetus for the development of the German economy? Next year, there is a high probability that Trump will return to the White House, and then the EU will be regarded as the second largest competitor of the United States after China.