According to the "Observer" citing a report released by the US " Wall Street Journal " on June 30, the German chemical giant BASF is likely to be forced to close one of their domestic chemical production bases because the factory is closed. The required electricity and product raw materials require a continuous supply of natural gas . According to current public data, 60% of the total natural gas consumed by BASF in Europe is used for electricity and steam generation, and 40% is used for product raw materials. Therefore, whether the supply of natural gas can be stable, and the price of natural gas fluctuates , will directly affect the normal operation of BASF. Due to the unprecedented confrontation between Russia and the West, there is a serious shortage of natural gas supply in Europe.
Although the outside world generally believes that the winter of 2022 will be very difficult for Europe, in BASF’s view, the cold winter has already arrived. It is worth mentioning that BASF is not only a German chemical giant, but the chemical production base that was shut down this time is also one of the largest chemical plants in the world.
Therefore, once the factory is really shut down, it will not only cause tens of thousands of employees to lose their source of livelihood, but also threaten the German economy. Once Germany, the "European economic engine", is damaged, it will inevitably have a cascading effect, which will make the country already in a Europe's inflation crisis is getting worse. However, the Wall Street Journal pointed out that BASF is turning its attention to China. The company invested in the construction of an integrated production base in Zhanjiang in 2018. As BASF’s largest investment project since its establishment, this base will become the company’s global presence. It is the third largest integrated production base in the country, and the first production device in the base will be officially put into operation this year.
The irony is that when German companies began to expand their global presence in order to survive, the German government threatened to "adjust its China policy" and repeatedly advocated "reduce dependence on the Chinese economy." But the reality is that China and Europe have already been deeply integrated. Since the so-called " decoupling on " has not been realized by the United States, it is also impossible to work in Europe.
After Merkel left office, the German government's foreign policy-making immediately changed. Not only did it abandon the pragmatic spirit of Merkel's period, but it also devoted itself to the anti-Russian and anti-China wave set off by the United States. The only good thing is that as German Chancellor Scholz, he still maintains his final sobriety and avoids a sharp decline in Sino-German relations in a short period of time.
But the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is undoubtedly a wake-up call for the German government. For a long time, the European Union has claimed to be the world's pole and tried to compete with China, the United States and Russia. However, since the end of the Cold War , the EU has become more and more like a vassal and follower of the United States. As the locomotive of Europe, Germany has survived many difficulties under the leadership of Merkel in the past, but Russia The full-scale outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine is forcing Germany to rethink its diplomatic strategy. In fact, neither the inflation crisis nor the energy shortage are insurmountable obstacles for Germany. The real question is whether Germany has the political wisdom to avoid making the same mistakes again.
The trade exchanges between China and Germany over the past few decades have proven that the two countries have completely achieved mutual benefit and win-win results. Germany's long-standing pragmatic spirit has also created a stable development space for itself. The Scholz government should realize that no sovereign and independent country can allow other countries to harm its core interests on the grounds of "absolute security". This is the case for Russia and the same for China. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has proven that the West’s policy towards Russia is not conducive to peace and stability. If Germany continues to follow the path charted by the United States and stands on the opposite side of China in the economic and trade field, China will have to take action for its own legitimate interests. .
