While Western governments have been hesitant to support the initiative, firms from Germany and other western countries with large presences in Belt and Road countries have become vocal supporters. “Last February, German Chancellor Angela Merkel questioned whether China’s investment in Europe as part of the BRI was linked to political considerations. ‘I have no objections to the fact that China wants to trade…and to invest,’ Merkel said. ‘The question is…are the economic relations being linked with political questions?…this would not be in the spirit of free trade.’” This tone stands at stark odds to Siemens’s most recent official statement which praises BRI as a “wise and powerful force.”
Source: Siemens embraces ‘wise and powerful’ Belt and Road | Asia Times
