Todd Bishop
The German media “Süddeutsche Zeitung” published a comment written by the reporter in China on Monday (8th). The article is worried that the young people in Germany think they are international, but they are full of prejudice against China. They don’t know that they are being left behind by the ambitious Chinese peers.
According to the article, Germans have various congenital advantages since birth: a stable political system, an affordable health care system, and free education. Just pay 60 euros to get the world’s most valuable passport. When the Germans entered the workplace, the wage level far exceeded the global average. The Chinese do not have it all, which is the incentive for them.
The article points to, but it’s all changing now. In the race that is about the future, Europe has been hit hard in succession: Greek debt, refugee crisis, and Brexit. At the same time, competitors are catching up. Since the 1990s, China’s GDP has increased ninefold. This rise has also lifted millions of people out of poverty and became a middle class. In terms of network technology, e-commerce, and mobile payment, China has already surpassed Germany. In the future of quantum computing, artificial intelligence and other technologies, China is surpassing Germany.
The article continues, the China-US trade war, Huawei disputes show how much Westerners are now afraid of China. China’s autocracy, China’s contempt for human rights, and China’s monitoring of the people, must not be a model for Europe. However, “we must now open our eyes and look around.”
Westerners’ sense of superiority is out of date
The author is worried that many German friends around him still know very little about China. China seems to be a prejudiced documentary for them. If they don’t want to see it, they can change channels at any time, as if they have nothing to do with their future life. The author asks, is this ignorant or arrogant? In contrast, Chinese friends around her are much more interested in Europe.
The article concludes that young people must recognize that the general superiority of Westerners is out of date, and that this sense of superiority is dangerous. For China, the EU still has value now because Europe has the technology that the Chinese government needs. By the end of this situation, Europe will completely lose its influence on China. Europe is doing too little to maintain global competitiveness.
