Merkel's alarmist talk harks back to days of the Cold War

Since China launched its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, some politicians in the West have taken a skeptical attitude toward it, and even drummed up suspicions with their outdated "China threat" rhetoric. In the latest, and unexpected example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that China must not link its investments in the western Balkans to political demands at a joint news conference with Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in Berlin on Wednesday.

Alarmist talk of such kind shows despite the close economic cooperation and frequent people-to-people exchanges between China and the outside world, prejudice against China, which stems from the stubborn persistence of the Cold War mentality, still runs high in the West.

China has long made it clear that the initiative for greater connectivity it has proposed is for the good of all. Since 2013, more than 100 countries and international organizations have responded favorably to the initiative, and Chinese companies have invested more than $50 billion in 20 countries involved in the initiative, creating 180,000 local jobs and contributing to the economic development of these countries.