BVB’s Benjamin Wahl in CEO talk + Taiwan’s Armament

When China tackles something, it changes sustainably – this is currently also true for soccer. In the CEO Talk with China.Table, the local head of BVB talks about the interests of Dortmund fans in China. They are also becoming more and more economically important for a traditional German club. Benjamin Wahl explains: In China, as in Germany, it is the special emotional bond with the club that accounts for its success. But even though China itself has enough former steel and coal regions, the clientele there is quite different from that in the Ruhrpott; it is comparatively more international and more female. Wahl also assesses the prospects of success for Chinese football for us. He also talks about the different training methods in a country where teachers are still real persons of respect.

Xi Jinping, meanwhile, spoke on the phone with Joe Biden and Angela Merkel in quick succession. Among the topics discussed in both chief talks were Afghanistan, Covid, climate protection, and trade. All parties know each other. As vice-president under Obama, Biden has been in meetings with Xi as long as their presidencies have overlapped – most recently in 2015.

But with their many years of experience in China, that’s where the similarities, at the moment, end. Merkel has maintained a fundamentally positive attitude towards China and, over the years, has developed a certain understanding of the conditions there. In the process, she has repeatedly made it clear how difficult she imagines it would be to administer such a large and diverse country effectively. Biden, on the other hand, is currently continuing on the course of his predecessor, positioning himself as an adversary of China. His long experience has not nurtured understanding, but frustration.

This is somewhat reminiscent of Biden’s handling of Afghanistan, which he wrote off as a hopeless case based on his first-and experiences. Therefore, he made no effort to turn the matter into a success in the end. China, on the other hand, has not transformed itself into a democratic partner of the US through free world trade as hoped; it has remained loyal to its system and is defending it more aggressively than ever. Biden witnessed all this as an active politician. Now his disappointment is great, and US policy is finally swinging counter wise to the American course before Trump: even with Biden, there is a tendency towards protectionism and mistrust. Unfortunately, Merkel is now stepping down from the world stage as a counterweight to such a course.

I hope your week starts well,

Your
Finn Mayer-Kuckuk