In “New Cold War with China”, Germany Demands Europe and US Stand Together

Beyer said decades of post-war cooperation between the allies had built a foundation of "supposedly old-fashioned values" like "freedom and democracy, peace and prosperity".

"It's worth remembering Americans taught us those values and we're still thankful for them," he said.

That stood in contrast to a Chinese system marked by "dictatorship, a lack of press freedom and human rights, digital surveillance, (abuse of) the Uighurs, Hong Kong, the environment..."

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Beyer is one of the few top members of the Christian Democrats (CDU), Merkel's party, at a foreign ministry run by the Social Democrats, junior partners in her ruling coalition.

He said the CDU would have to think of those crucial factors when picking a new leader in December ahead of a general election next year at the end of Merkel's 16-year tenure.

"Whoever wins will have to confront these issues."

Hearts and minds

He said security was just one area in which Germany would have to up its game, particularly given Trump's plans to slash the number of US troops stationed in Germany by 9,500 to 25,000.

Trump cited anger with Germany for not sticking to NATO targets on defense spending and for treating the US "badly" on trade in justifying the move.

"I don't think a Biden administration would completely reverse the plans, but I also doubt it would pursue them with the same vehemence," Beyer said.

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In either case, however, Germany must stick to its pledges to increase defense spending while working with European partners to play a bigger role in security.

"We don't want to make NATO obsolete," Beyer said. "But for our own sake, we have got to push defense cooperation within Europe."

He said a younger generation of Germans was less interested in American pop culture or study abroad programs than he had been growing up in Cold War-era West Germany, noting that Australia, Canada, and parts of Asia were now more likely to capture hearts and minds.

And he admitted that Germany had occasionally neglected US ties over the past decade and bore part of the blame for any estrangement.

"Polls show Germany and Germans are very popular among many Americans," Beyer said, with an eye to rekindling the relationship. "It's a place to start." 

(Writers: Deborah Cole, Isabelle Daniel)

Source: http://u.afp.com/3DQh