Quotes from Welt Am Sonntag article by Mathias Döpfner: "We have to choose"
Published 3 May 2020
Full text available at Die Welt
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The big mistake was to expose democratic market economies to a non-democratic state capitalism that takes advantage of easier trading and competitive conditions without subjecting itself to the same rules. Asymmetry instead of reciprocity became the rule. The idea of "change through trade" always invoked in speeches actually took place. But not how it was expected in the West. China has become even more authoritarian and economically stronger. The west weaker.
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The truth is that American policy on China will not change even under a possible Democrat government. The China question is now bipartisan in the United States - that is, non-partisan. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic spokeswoman for the House of Representatives, does not give anything to the American president; she has also initiated the impeachment investigation against him. During the Munich Security Conference, she replied to my question whether she essentially agreed with Trump's China policy without hesitation and to the surprise of the audience: "Yes." Pelosi described China as a "government that does not serve our values" and spoke of an "authoritarian form of aggression.”
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The current crisis is massively weakening the European economy, and that could very soon pose uncomfortable questions for us. Do we offer the Chinese our companies in the post-corona era at a bargain price due to depression? Or are we finally setting limits? If we do not now apply the principle of real reciprocity - in other words, that China can only do what we are allowed to do in China - then we won’t be able to again. Then Europe could suffer a similar fate to Africa in the long run. One would start on the creeping path to the Chinese colony. Or to put it in Henry Kissinger's words: "If America and Europe fail to become a community of interests again, America will become a big island. And the EU an appendix to Eurasia."
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So far, Europe has avoided a clear definition and likes to act as a bloc in the middle, as a hesitant tip on the scales. Even believing opportunism is independence and courage. But Europe as Everybody's Darling will not exist on this matter. On questions of world order, you cannot dance at all weddings. The European economy likes to do business with China and doesn't want to be disturbed… The Italians even organize voluntary self-submission under the ridiculous euphemism "Silk Road". In Europe more and more people are saying appreciative things about the speed and efficiency of the Chinese market economy for crisis management. People forget that China's success is based on a perfected digital surveillance system that translates the KGB and Stasi perversions into the 21st century. And whoever argues in this way also overlooks the fact that some of China's successes only exist in the country's propaganda.
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In this situation, there are two alliance options for Europeans. You can deepen the traditional transatlantic alliance despite Trump, with the explicit and closer involvement of a post-Brexit England and associated countries such as Canada, Australia, Switzerland and the democratic part of Asia. Or opt for closer economic ties to China, which are always also political ties. Then you might wake up one day and find yourself in a creepy society: alongside China and associated countries like Russia, Iran and other autocracies. The world sorts itself. Economic ties with China may seem harmless to many Europeans today, but they could soon lead to political dependency and ultimately to the end of a free Europe.
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It is noteworthy that the German moralizing tendency in dealing with China seems to forget its values. This is about nothing less than our social model and humanity.
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Germany and Europe, together with the USA, should decide to consistently disconnect from China. How this should be structured is one of the most exciting political questions of the future. It would be late, but not too late. It would be expensive, but not too expensive. Germany, for example, has an annual trade volume of around 200 billion euros with China (import and export). With a total German trade volume of 2433 billion euros, the impact would be massive, but not prohibitive. The corona recession marks a new, shockingly low starting point anyway. A unique opportunity to correct a mistake.
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The American President is making it difficult for us. No question. But the transatlantic alliance, our historic community of interests and values, should be more important in the long term than the widespread despair over the current American government. It is not very interested in Europe - but we have to think about after Trump. Despite all its weaknesses, America is still the largest and most successful power for freedom in the world.
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The continuation of European and, above all, German China policy will result in progressive decoupling from America and gradual infiltration and submission by China. Economic dependence will only be the first step. Political influence will follow. Those who dominate artificial intelligence will first dominate economically, then politically. The race is currently only between America and China. China has the great advantage of not having any democratic impediments. What is permitted is what serves to strengthen the Chinese unitary state. That makes it unscrupulous and, above all, faster. The likelihood that Beijing will sometime overtake Silicon Valley is not small. European research excellence can be a decisive factor here. Which side do we want to use it on?
In the end, everything is very simple: what future do we want for Europe: an alliance with an imperfect democracy or with a perfect dictatorship? The decision should actually be easy for us. It's more than money. It is about our freedom, about Article 1, the most beautiful term that has ever been in a legal text: human dignity.