Merz’s reward for China goes viral within the People’s Republic | EUROtoday

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s journey to China and his subsequent statements at a CDU election marketing campaign occasion in Hesse have introduced Beijing propaganda success. The celebration newspaper “Global Times” distributed a video excerpt of the speech that Merz gave on Friday in Volkmarsen instantly after his return from the People’s Republic.

“We are simply no longer efficient enough,” Merz stated in Hesse. “If you come from China, ladies and gentlemen, then you have an even clearer feeling that work-life balance and a four-day week cannot maintain prosperity in our country in the long term. We simply have to do a little more now.”

This video clip was broadly shared on Chinese social media. The hashtag “The German Chancellor is in a panic after returning from China” alone obtained 48 million views. A reference to unrest in European labor markets can be vital for Beijing by way of home coverage as a result of the Chinese labor market itself is characterised by nice uncertainty. A Chinese skilled at present estimates the variety of unemployed folks in China at 2 hundred million folks, “calculating conservatively”. Officially, the unemployment charge is 5.1 %.

The state’s massive investments in industrial and cutting-edge know-how haven’t but led to extra jobs in China. The drafts of the five-year plan to be accepted in March point out that much more state sources will circulate into “core” areas equivalent to mechanical engineering and supplies, by which German firms have thus far been capable of survive in China. Beijing rejects the issues raised by Europe about authorities subsidies in any respect ranges of manufacturing and criticism of the renminbi, which is between ten and forty % undervalued.

The newspaper “Beijing Daily” wrote on Sunday that Merz’s journey to China had “refreshed the European understanding of China and refuted the false narrative that China’s cutting-edge technology is being advanced through subsidies, ‘low-cost imitation’ or even ‘plagiarism’.”

Through the Merz journey, “more Europeans could have gotten to know a pragmatic, entrepreneurial, open and integrative China.” It was emphasised that Merz “keeps smiling, nodding and applauding” after a robotic demonstration by the producer Unitree in Hangzhou.

Meanwhile, the widespread Merz quotes have been additionally shared, broadly mentioned and satirically commented on in a chat group of Chinese tenants. “Have you learned from China how to ruin the work-life balance?” the Chancellor was requested. Another laconically remarked: “This is also a cultural export.”