• About Us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
TFI Official Merchandise
TFI English
TFI हिन्दी
Friday, June 2, 2023
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
Right Arm. Round the World. FAST.
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
No Result
View All Result

‘US and Europe must unite against China,’ after months of defending China, Germany makes a U-turn

Too bad for Xi Jinping

Akshay Narang by Akshay Narang
October 28, 2020
in Europe
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
germany merkel us china europe
375
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The US is about to elect its new President and when the most powerful country on the face of the planet heads towards a poll, all other countries must prepare themselves for a post-poll diplomatic strategy. Angela Merkel’s Germany is no different. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel also needs a post-US Presidential poll strategy and it seems that she is preparing already. And from Berlin’s latest moves, it seems that Merkel is now reluctantly preparing herself for Trump 2.0. 

Merely a week ahead of the US Presidential polls, two high-ranking German officials asked the US to work together with Europe in order to formulate a response against China. This direct call by Berlin to accept American leadership of the democratic world against China is rather unusual. Till now, Germany was adamant on rejecting Trump’s leadership on China. But it seems that the German Chancellor is now trying to correct Berlin’s pro-China image.

Also Read

Jamaica’s one Trillion Dollar Budget: Is Holness Planning to Colonize Mars?

St. Lucia to become the Taiwan of the West

The German push for forging a united front against China is coming directly from the top, that is, the German Defence and Foreign Ministers. 

The German Chancellor’s newfound hate for China is actually guided by the foreign policy calculus in White House that strongly depends on who comes to power- Trump or Biden. Trump, of course, wants to be the biggest China hawk in the world. On the other hand, Biden is a fierce Russia critic and a nominal China critic at the best. 

In an ideal world, Merkel would want Biden to win. She is considered Beijing’s biggest well-wisher in Europe and as such Germany itself has deep business interests in the People’s Republic of China. Also, Merkel is a fierce Russia critic because she understands that the largely irrelevant Trans-Atlantic relationship between Europe and the US hinges vulnerably on the anachronistic worldview of the Russian threat to the free world. 

But political leaders seldom get the liberty of living in an ideal world. In diplomatic powerplay, leaders have to very often make do with what they have, and not what they want to have. Merkel too has realised that she needs to prepare her administration for the likely prospect of Trump coming back to power. 

The German Chancellor realises that if Trump comes back to power for a second term and Berlin still doesn’t mend its ways about China, then the White House might as well forget that Berlin used to be a close American ally. Merkel is herself in the twilight of her career and will retire next year. But if she doesn’t repair US-Germany ties by correcting Berlin’s pro-China image, then her successors will be left blaming her for landing them in an awkward position.   

For a long time, the Merkel administration was hoping against hope that Berlin’s relentless jibes against Moscow and the Russian President Vladimir Putin would somehow preserve the Trans-Atlantic relationship. 

But the Trump administration’s response to Merkel’s stubbornness has been to simply warm up to the Indo-Pacific countries like India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines. And now, the German administration has come to realise that Europe and Germany are losing significance as the global spotlight shifts to the Indo-Pacific. 

In midst of changing geopolitical realities, Merkel’s pro-China image wasn’t really helping Berlin win favour with US President Donald Trump. 

Therefore, of late, Germany has been making moves like releasing an India-centric Indo-Pacific policy in a clear snub to China and raising the issue of Chinese human rights violations. However, Merkel is not criticising China because she hates China or wants to criticise China. She is doing so, only in order to ensure that Germany doesn’t fade into complete irrelevance if Trump comes back to power. 

Today, Germany understands that futile attempts to paint Russia as the real villain and push the EU towards China, only antagonises the Trump administration even further. If Merkel doesn’t get rid of Berlin’s pro-China tag, then Germany might as well become completely irrelevant. 

Therefore, even Germany’s Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, feels that the future of Trans-Atlantic relations would be “determined by the right way of dealing with China”.

As such, the bright chances of a Trump re-election are compelling Angela Merkel to find the ‘right way’ of dealing with China. Ahead of the US Presidential polls, Berlin is therefore looking to shift goalposts from Moscow to Beijing in a bid to impress upon Trump, if he comes back to power for a second term.  

Tags: Short takes
ShareTweetSend
Previous Post

Ladakh, Senkaku Islands and Taiwan: The US is getting ready to smash China on every possible front

Next Post

With Russia onboard, India is all set to cut across China’s BRI projects in Central Asia

Also Read

Putin’s Odessa Ambitions are About to Come True

Putin’s Odessa Ambitions are About to Come True

June 1, 2023
Oh Well, Germany is Planning a War with Russia (Psst… to Win Elections at Home)

Oh Well, Germany is Planning a War with Russia (Psst… to Win Elections at Home)

June 1, 2023
Zelensky has probably assassinated his army chief

Zelensky has probably assassinated his army chief

June 1, 2023
Spain is all set for an Italian Redux 2.0

Spain is all set for an Italian Redux 2.0

June 1, 2023
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
11th July: The date set by Victoria Nuland for WWIII

11th July: The date set by Victoria Nuland for WWIII

May 31, 2023
Alberta wildfires are not an act of God but an act of the federal government

Alberta wildfires are not an act of God but an act of the federal government

May 29, 2023
UAE’s Record Gold Purchase from Russia could have De-dollarization written all over it

UAE’s Record Gold Purchase from Russia could have De-dollarization written all over it

May 29, 2023
Jagmeet singh caught red-handed stealing $6.5 billion from provincial coffers

Jagmeet singh caught red-handed stealing $6.5 billion from provincial coffers

September 3, 2022
With one shocking scandal, Ursula just lost Bulgaria entirely

With one shocking scandal, Ursula just lost Bulgaria entirely

May 29, 2023
Putin’s Odessa Ambitions are About to Come True

Putin’s Odessa Ambitions are About to Come True

June 1, 2023
Oh Well, Germany is Planning a War with Russia (Psst… to Win Elections at Home)

Oh Well, Germany is Planning a War with Russia (Psst… to Win Elections at Home)

June 1, 2023
Zelensky has probably assassinated his army chief

Zelensky has probably assassinated his army chief

June 1, 2023
Spain is all set for an Italian Redux 2.0

Spain is all set for an Italian Redux 2.0

June 1, 2023
11th July: The date set by Victoria Nuland for WWIII

11th July: The date set by Victoria Nuland for WWIII

May 31, 2023
Youtube Twitter Facebook
TFIGlobal
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy

©2023 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean

©2023 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Follow us on Twitter

and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team

Follow @tfiglobal
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. View our Privacy and Cookie Policy.