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Coming up, South Korea's new president vows economic revival and judgment on martial law.
U .S. doubles the country's steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%.
China tells the U .S. envoy that Washington should get ties back on the right track.
Dutch government collapses after far -right leader quits coalition.
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South Korea's new President Lee Jong -un has vowed to raise the country from the turmoil of a martial law crisis and revive the country's economy.
President Li claimed decisive victory in Tuesday's snap election winning more than 49 % of the vote.
Li immediately assumed the powers of the presidency and commander in chief.
The 61 -year -old former lawyer called Tuesday's election a quote -unquote judgment day against the former president Yong -Soo Yeo's martial law.
So for more joining us now on the lines is Professor Choo Chiang from Minto University of China.
Thank you very much for joining us professor Thank you.
So first of all professor What do you think has really enabled Li Jiamung to beat his main rival Kim Moon -Som in Tuesday's snap election?
Well, I think there are many reasons.
I don't think this problem has been accumulated on one day but basically Lee Jiamung is such an old soldier in the South Korean political arena, and also it's its competitors has really been performing really bad in the past one or two years.
So I think number one reason for the victory of Lee Jang Myung is Eun Seo -ok's policy and really get all the voters to feel terrible and revolting.
So I think last year, I think at the end of last year, I think it was December the 3rd or November the 3rd, Inseok's martial law has been triggered probably the most serious constitutional crisis over South Korea, and its supporting rate has been falling down ferociously.
So as the opposition party, Lee Jae -myung actually has been benefiting from all these dissatisfaction and discontent of the voters towards Inseok's policy.
So I think this is reason one.
And then secondly, I think Ijangmyeon also have its own attractions and its policies towards ordinary families and also towards the whole society, has also been attracting people.
For example, he is very pragmatic.
He tried to lead the country and stabilize the whole economy and using very realistic policies to restore people's livelihood.
And, you know, for example like developing a modernized industry to use fiscal policies and, you know, monitor policies to, you know, solve the difficulties for the small enterprises and families.
And also, he mentioned South Korea needs to lead in AI and, you know, high -tech, and also all kinds of the budget needs to support, you know, families in problems. For example, in poverty and also cannot afford education and old age care.
So I think this kind of policy is actually I think with a very strong flavour of socialism.
So I think ordinary families, you know, those kind of nonprivileged families really welcome it.
And also I think E.
Jameel himself is very characteristic.
For example, he used to be a, you know, the mayor of the Songnan City and of the Gyeonggi -do Province.
And also he has been, you know, working very, very long with the Wen Jiayin and also with the DPK, the Party.
So I think his, you know, personal, his personal, you know, character and also the personality can really attracting people.
And also he survived assassination.
So many strong supporters, you know, hardcore fans really like him.
And also, I think other, you know, other competitors in this time's election also been facing a lot of problems, for example, like the Lee Jong -sok, and also Kim Moon -ju.
And their supporting ratio has been shattered by their domestic competition, by the other voters.
So they are not forming a very strong advantage against Lee Jae -min.
So I think this, you know, his own strength and also his competitors' disadvantage all caused his victory.
I take your point. Now, according to data compiled by South Korea's National Election Commission, two states' vote saw the highest turnout rates for a presidential election in this country since the year 1997.
What do you think this tells us?
Well, it tells that the voters in South Korea really pay attention to the future of South Korea.
Just take a look at the numbers.
The South Korean economy is now growing in a very good situation.
Inflation still be there, and also Trump's tariff war has been affecting this export -oriented economy, and also they're facing lots of competition from other economies in the whole world.
I mean, and also you see there are realistic problems in the Grand Seoul region.
So I think the ordinary household in South Korea are facing a very, you know, questionable situation.
And a plus, since last year, Yingsho -eok's foul play and impertinence against the constitution really triggered anger in the mass crowds.
So people are worrying about the future.
Is the Hangang, you know, miracle a joke or for real?
Is South Korea's democracy a joke or for real?
So people are questioning, people are confused.
So that's the reason why people are all, take it to the street and try to vote in the ballot box to show their choices for this country's future.
And also behind that, I think there are major outbursts of the social conflict and the people you know, and people's, you know, all kinds of opinions, politically, economically, socially, culturally.
So everything in South Korea right now are getting into a joint, you know, a joint juncture moment.
So people want to change.
So through this election, I think at least, you know, South Korean people want to, you know, express their willingness to change and also at least elect Lee Seung -eun.
Seung -eun is, I think, is a reformer but also very conservative.
What I mean is that he follows what we call the mid way.
Always developing economy, not to play with politics.
Always choose to cooperate with some other countries, but not to choose side with America or some other side.
So, take South Korea's national benefit, and to know ordinary family's livelihood in the first place, I think that's the reason why people choose him.
In a victory speech, outside of the parliament building, the new president said his first mission is to decisively overcome insurrection and to ensure that there will never be another military coup, adding that, quote, we can overcome this temporary difficulty with the combined strength of our people who have great capabilities, What do you think he is going to do specifically on this mission and we know one challenge awaiting this new leader is this social norm deeply scored by divisions so do you think it is realistic to expect Li Zhanmeng to heal the divisions?
It's very, very difficult.
I'm going to say that Lee Se -myeon is kind of somebody.
He survived a assassination, and he really gets stabbed, even worse than Trump did in the assassination.
So, he is a man with guts, with courage.
No denial to that. But, Korea's problem has not been formed in one day.
You're going to see many, many problems, and it's even beyond South Korea, the country itself.
So, well, I have to say that the fate of South Korea is not even decided by South Korean people alone even though they're trying to do so, respectively but they're not making it 100%.
For example, like he wants to control the military coup, yes a very good consideration, but you have to understand the military force is not quite in control in the President of South Korea.
They've been in a very large extent manipulated by some other force outside South Korea and it's kind of an independent source.
Once the president is not in line with some other country's government, probably the military force will still have a chance to, you know, overthrew this President or change them.
I think South Korea has made a lot of the progress ever since the Jeon -do -hun and also the Park Jong -su period of time.
So, South Korea has already changed itself from, you know, a military, you know, authoritarian government now to a quasi -democratic government, but still it's very hard to change the nature of the military force in South Korea given its funding and the very birth.
It's very different from a normal nation.
And also talking about the jurisdictions and about the legal society in South Korea is even more so.
The prosecution society.
The prosecutors is basically not in the hand of the president, it's basically controlled by some other country, big major country.
So can the South Korean president take back the controlling right of the prosecution, you know, society, you know, control the prosecutors to make them work for the government and not against the government?
I think this is a big question mark ahead of us.
I think Lee Jae -Myung can face the deaths, very frankly, he's a hero, but can he make his country to be, to face such kind of a pressure and change the whole course of the nation.
Very big question mark.
And also within South Korea, even let's put aside South Korea and the big foreign nation.
Within South Korea there are also many big problems like the chaebols with the ordinary families, like the gap of the social income and all those can be a problem as well.
I don't think Lee Jie -Ming can finish the course within his inauguration presidency.
So fingers are crossed for him.
South Korea is basically an export -heavy economy and the tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump would actually hit some of the country's major industries including say, the auto sector or the steel industry.
So the final question before we let you go in briefly Finally how would you evaluate the difficulties and challenges for President Lee Jong -un in terms of talking to Washington and reaching a deal on trade?
Lee Jong -un is a man.
I think if the prime minister of Japan can do so, can stand up to Trump, then Lee Jong -un can do it as well.
To be simple, Lee Jong -un will always put, as he swears, he will put Koreans' benefit in the first place.
And so he will try his best to negotiate with Trump to strike a deal with him.
And to some extent he probably will cooperate with Japan, with China, and with some other ASEAN nations, try to certify the economic position in South Korea and trying to find the third way.
So I think, well, even though it's very, very difficult against the current situation, but I think Lee Jamin is not in Seoul.
He will do something for sure to change the current situation, even though a little bit, you know, Even a little bit difficult, but I think he will achieve a little bit of something different at this time.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Professor Chiu -Chiang joining us from Mingsu University of China.
Coming up the United States has doubled the country's steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%.
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The United States is facing growing international criticism after President Donald Trump signed an order to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25 % to 50%.
The European Commission has warned that the move could lead to swift retaliation and raise costs for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the meantime, Canada's steel industry also voiced strong opposition, calling the decision catastrophic and warning of major disruptions.
Despite all these concerns, the White House insists that the tariff hike is necessary to protect the American steel industry.
This is actually the second increase in terms of import duties on the metals since March. So for more joining us now on the line is Liu Ziqin, Senior Fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, thank you very much for joining us.
Hours before Trump decided to hike these duties, many companies that could be directly affected by these duties could actually hardly believe that the plan was moving forward. What do you latest move, does this represent a short -term tactic?
Or do you think this would represent some kind of a long -term plan?
I think from his behavior from president Trump has shown his own personality to deal with all these uncertainties and disputes with other countries.
He has a very tough idea.
When he made his decision, I think nobody, no other factor, can change his ideas.
so this is the major problem for the rest of the world.
His decision I think temporarily is a tactic.
He will show the reaction and the response from other countries whether we can find a good opportunity to make more advantages and to take some advantages from other countries.
And secondly, also we cannot give up our hope that his decision is also based on the so -called long term plan because he is willing to make America greater again.
This is a long process.
It's not a short decision for one year or two years.
So, from both sides, technically and also technically also, from long term plan from both sides, I think he has already with his decision to continue his policy towards the world.
So the United States is the biggest importer of steel, for example in the world, getting most of the metal from Canada, its northern neighbor, and also Brazil and Latin America, Mexico along its southern border and South Korea.
How would you expect these countries or these economies to retaliate when they try to respond to President Donald Trump's latest action here?
As we know that all these countries that the who are the main exporters of steel related products to America are having limited or limitations on retaliation because as we know that this is steel production and export to the United States are the main business sections of this country.
They made a great contribution and has a higher part of the GDP in their own country.
So when the retaliation to the United States always tried to have the other field, for instance, the agriculture, the wines and the pork and the other – the living, living auto products or even electricity or information technologies in this way.
But in principle, I think that they still have a limitation that don't have too much strong field that will have a so -called right retaliation.
This is why the United States or President Trump is so daring to make such a decision to increase the double figures of these duties on European countries, on Canada and Mexico, because they know that they don't have too much cost to retaliate against the U .S pressure.
This is the main point, I think.
Now in particular, Canada represents the top exporter of both steel and aluminum to the United States.
And a clear message we're hearing from Canada's new prime minister is that Canada must reduce its reliance on the United States.
especially economic reliance.
Do you think he means it?
And what kind of measures or actions do you expect this new Prime Minister of Canada to take?
I think not only the Canada Prime Minister, but also the other countries or government has the similar attitude towards the US pressure, because they have to say, okay, in this way, because of the uncertainty there's a pressure from the American side, we have to reduce the reliance on the U .S. market.
This is a very diplomatic expression because they know that if they insist to rely on the United States market that they will have more troubles, more problems. But nowadays, they don't find any other way that to absorb the export product, especially in the steel and aluminum products.
So American market is still unique and very important to market for this country.
So they are trying to criticize the United States on the one hand and the other hand also try to find a better way to see that to tell the United States if you insist that to have pressure unless we have to turn to other market.
But as we know, I think that it's not easy to find other markets as big as the United States that could buy, import, or absorb such high production from this country.
So it's a way of bargaining from both sides.
Both sides have to find another way, how to find a good way or a middle way to mitigate all these challenges from both sides.
But in any case, I don't think Canada and other countries have the real efficient way to retaliate in the United States in dealing with high duties on steel and aluminum products.
Actually, during his first term in office, Mr. Trump imposed the tariffs of 25 % on steel imports and 10 % on aluminum imports.
And according to a 2020 analysis conducted by two scholars respectively from Harvard University and the University of California Davis, Donald Trump's first term tariffs created roughly 1 ,000 drops in the steel industry of America, but, and I guess there is a bigger but here, but cost the US economy 75000 drops in other areas, other sectors such as manufacturing and construction.
Now, some people, some analysts or some economists are nowadays expecting to see even more extreme job losses in the United States this time around.
What is your take? I think we should remember at the voting, at the beginning of the election, the Trump administration has announced the measures for the tariffs, only for the purpose to ensure to a high employment rate, but to avoid the high unemployment rate.
This is his promise.
And secondly, also to avoid the high inflation.
But both purposes, I don't think that they have really realized, because they already violated his promise during his elections.
As we know, what the President Trump has done is only totally, roughly the expression of the so -called exploitation.
This is a very traditional one, the exploitation of the other country's interests.
So they want to exploit this surplus value of other nation.
This is the only purpose of the President Trump tried to do.
So we know that the differences between capitalist and socialist is that capitalist is the one to take advantage of other countries.
But the socialism is to share the advantage of each other.
So this is why we don't think that the Trump administration will find the right way to solve all these problems, especially for the unemployment and the inflation, because he doesn't care whether he has high inflation, high living price, high production costs or high unemployment rate, or high tension between countries.
He didn't care. So he wants to have so called America great again.
But how to be great?
Nobody knows. In this way, I don't think that America will be great again, will be smaller than ever.
Yeah. Thank you very much for pointing out what is fundamentally wrong with the logic that backs Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum, and his so called reciprocal tariffs etc, and also thank you very much for putting this issue into this perspective regarding the ideological differences between capitalism and socialism.
Thank you very much, Liu Jieqing, senior fellow with the Chungya Institute for Financial Studies, with Xiaming University of China.
You are listening to World Today, I m Ding Heng in Beijing.
We ll be back after a short break.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on the new US Ambassador to China to serve as a promoter of bilateral cooperation.
The senior Chinese diplomat made remark in a Tuesday meeting with David Padure in Beijing.
He noted that China -U .S. relations are currently at an important and critical juncture, and that equality and mutual respect are the prerequisites for interaction between the two sides, and dialogue and cooperation are the only correct choices.
Wang Yi expressed firm opposition to the negative measures taken by Washington after the bilateral economic and trade meeting in Geneva last month.
He urged Washington to honor commitments made during a January phone call between the two sides' top leaders and work toward stabilizing bilateral ties.
For his part, Ambassador Pedure pledged to maintain close communication with China based on mutual respect and dialogue.
For more, my colleague Song Ruixin is joining us in our Beijing studio.
Thank you very much for joining us Ruixin.
Thanks for having me.
So in your opinion, and in your observation, how might Ambassador David Padua's previous work experience influence his approach to diplomacy with China?
Well, first of all, from my point of view, when I first look at his profile, what comes to my mind is, oh, this is so Trump -style.
I mean, as a former U .S. senator from Georgia and a businessman with the international experience, Perdue brings both political and economic perspective to the role.
His background in business may make him more focused on resource oriented engagement, especially in areas like trade, investment, and market access.
In the Senate, Perdue served on committees related to armed services and budgets, which likely give him an exposure to political and economic policy.
So those are both key areas in China and U .S. relations.
I mean, his political ties and particularly with U .S. President Donald Trump may also influence how closely he allied with previous U .S. policy positions or seek continuity in certain strategic areas.
So overall, he produces a mix of business, political, and legislative experience as a former U .S. senator and CEO of companies like Reebok, and brings a strong background in international business and politics to his role as ambassador.
So his work in global trade and corporate leadership, especially involving Asia, would shape his approach to diplomacy in China.
So we have heard China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasizing this critical juncture in the bilateral ties between Washington and Beijing.
So what do you see as the most pressing issue, let's put it this way, that Mr. Paduhr helped to address during his tenure to stabilize this bilateral relationship, and how do you think his approach diplomatically speaking might differ from his predecessors?
I think Purdue must prioritize restoring regular high -level communication channels between defense and foreign affairs agencies to prevent let's say misunderstandings from spiraling to conflicts.
For example, intellectual U .S. restrictions on semiconductor exports and investment bands, and decoupling rhetoric.
Those all have created a climate of unpredictability.
So Purdue should work with China to define red lines, avoiding weaponization of critical technologies like artificial intelligence.
Without crisis management, even minor incidents could trigger a chain reaction of retaliation.
As Wang Yi noted that stability is the precondition for all cooperation.
Compared with Nicolas Burns, Purdue with a business -oriented background may shift toward a more transactional tone focused on concrete bilateral interests.
Will Purdue aim to manage frictions through direct engagement and economic trade -offs given the structural dynamics of the US -China relationship.
Let's wait and see.
So in the meantime, the senior Chinese diplomat, Wang Yi, has also highlighted this revelation, or I guess it's a very important piece of wisdom from nearly half a century of bilateral ties, that dialogue and cooperation are the only correct choices.
How does this reflect China's strategic narrative about bilateral ties?
And how do you think it has been received by the U .S. side in recent years?
So recently, like what the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said, that the U .S. has seriously undermined the consensus of China and U .S. Geneva economic and trade talks by imposing AI chip export controls, holding chip software sales and revoking Chinese student visas.
So these actions severely violated the consensus reached during a phone call between the two heads of state on January 17th and worsened bilateral economic and trade uncertainties.
So, China's narrative of dialogue and cooperation reflects a pragmatic effort to stabilize relations amid structural competition.
But it faces headwinds in this US political environment.
So it looks like US has shown limited willingness to cooperate.
I mean, sustained progress will require both sides to prioritize crisis management and rebuild institutionalized dialogue and identify areas like collaboration and restore trust. Hmm...
I take your point. So the final question before we let you go.
Xin, how do you think both countries can work towards this equality and respect that Wang Yi has mentioned and has emphasized actually as the prerequisite for cooperation between the two sides?
Basically, I think it's very important to respect the core interests like the US must uphold this 1.
China policy and China expects an end to interference in its internal affairs.
2. Revive dialogue mechanisms, restore high -level talks to address disputes reciprocally and avoiding conflicts 3.
Boost people -to -people ties, expand exchanges in education, business, and culture to counter distrust rather than revoke students' visas.
Finally, I think is to prioritize women's cooperation.
For example, collaborate on climate and artificial governance and public health where shared benefits are clear.
The key is to shift from rivalry to coexistence through mutual concessions and pragmatic engagement.
Thank you very much for joining us.
That was my colleague Song Ruixin joining us in our Beijing studio.
Coming up, China's DeepSeek releases upgraded R1 AI model ramping up competition with Google or Open AI.
This is World Today, we'll be back.
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Chinese AI start -up DeepSeek has released a new version of its R1 reasoning model marking its first revision since its debut in January.
The company said the new model matched the performance of top global competitors including OpenAI and Google.
China's big tech giants, including Tencent, Baidu, and ByteDance, announced the integration of the R1 upgrade model into their respective cloud computing platforms for developers and corporate clients.
For more on this, my colleague Zhao Yang spoke with Dr. Liu Xiaoshan, director of embodied intelligence with the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society.
So Dr. Liu, first, what are some of the new features of this DeepSeq R1 update model, and how significant is this technological advancement?
Well, I think DeepSeq is already the world's leading model.
With the update, cost -efficiency is the key word, such that you can train on a single GPU.
So it makes it much more affordable compared to previous versions.
But to recap, basically DeepSeq brings three major advantages over other models.
First of all, its advanced reasoning capabilities, so that you can infer what you are telling the model, and then try to give you a very well thought answer.
The second feature is cost efficiency, such that compared to, for example, OpenAI's model, IPv4 takes one -fifth of the cost to train.
So, it's much more affordable.
The third one, I think it's a big one.
It's open source, so that anyone interested can deploy their own model using the open source infrastructure.
These three key features make DeepSeek a very outstanding candidate for the next -generation dominant model in the world.
And how would you describe the overarching trend and development in AI, especially the generative AI, this year?
Well, I think the key word here is agentic autonomy.
Now, people are building a lot of agents to carry out particular tasks.
To make an analogy, a foundation model such as DeepSeq, GPT, they're like operating systems in the mobile computing era.
They are Androids and iOS.
And the agents and APPs on top of it.
So, companies are building a lot of agents penetrated in many different vertical industries.
For example, Menace, it's a very famous agent built on top of a several foundation module such as Alibaba's QN.
It's capable of making very default tasks to carry out a long chain of thoughts and to carry out a list of tasks by itself.
So these are agents.
I think agents would become the trend for the years to come because the foundation, the operating system level, the foundation models, they are ready.
Now it's the application that will emerge and thrive.
And what are the most ground -breaking applications for generative AI to date?
Is there anything like AI Plus, you know, manufacturing or AI plus others model?
Oh yes, I think that's a key point as the applications are penetrating into society, it's actually penetrating into every single sector.
So it's going to completely transform our economy.
For example, AI co -pilot, such as the one on GitHub, it's going to replace a lot of software engineers, and today the software engineering industry is a 700 billion industry, so it's going to be completely transformed.
Second of all, there are a lot of the multimodal agents that integrate visual, auditory, textual input to support manufacturing education and even health care.
I think that's an emerging market as well.
Then, if you look at some sectors, say, urban planning, digital twin are being deployed to do urban planning.
Note that as of 2025, the global mobile ecosystem, if you talk about iPhone, Android ecosystems, is valued at about $400 billion but NVIDIA estimated the AI agent market would easily surpass $1 trillion.
So it's a much, much bigger market we're looking at.
And a very big market.
So Dr Liu, So from your perspective, how close are China and the US on AI advancement?
As of today, I think we are fairly close.
That's why U .S. is putting out a lot of export control, that kind of demonstrates that U .S. is really a fugitive threat from Chinese models and strives to hold off Chinese AI development.
For example, the export restriction of Huawei's ascent trips in limiting China's training capability.
And as you mentioned, the US is targeting the high -tech sector of China and AI, but China will continue to forge ahead and develop its own technological capacity, regardless of what Washington does.
So what do you think of China's potential in AI and semiconductors?
I think that's the most interesting question.
If you look at a very recent, I think it's a few years back, there was a congressional hearing in the United States, and then one of the speakers with Microsoft president, Brad Smith.
He stated, the number one factor that we define whether the US or China wins the AI race is whose technology is most broadly adopted in the rest of the world, because China -US combined it's about 25 % of the global tech market, but it's up to the rest of the 75 % who decide who wins the race.
So it highlights the importance of global trust and adoption of these technologies.
but then now the US is putting out all this restrictive export control, pushing people away from using US technology.
So I think it's a golden era for Chinese tech firms. And what do you think are the main factors that are contributing to China's rapid development in AI technology?
Well there are a few things right, a talent for the past decade.
A lot of talents are coming back to China to develop startups within China.
So that's why we see a thriving landscape.
The second of all, there are a lot of AI applications in China compared to other countries.
So the Chinese government is more open -minded towards AI adoption.
So those applications gave rise to a lot of startups in the space.
So it's a very good feedback loop.
The third is capital injection, of course.
Now, the focus of a Chinese economy shifting from real estate to tech. I think that would give a boost as well.
And some Western critics argue that China's high -tech sector, like AI, rely heavily on state subsidies.
So how do you respond to that?
Well, I think that's hypocrisy.
For example, in the United States, the CHIPS Act is allocating $53 billion to bolster the domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
If you look at the EU, there's a European CHIPS Act, similar amount, 43 billion European dollars, euros onto the sector.
And if you look at Japan, they are also investing heavily in this sector.
So everybody is doing it.
They should not just criticize China for doing it.
I think that's a normal practice in global tech competition.
And what do you think are the private sector's role in China's AI development?
I think the private sector carries the main role.
I think the public sector gives a direction or the government gives the direction.
This is the technology we want to develop based on the analysis.
but then it's up to the private sector to thrive in these individual sectors.
First of all, within the next few years, they have to build up their technology to win the domestic competition.
Once they win the domestic competition, they go abroad, they will easily take over the market due to advancement in their technology.
This fierce competition within the China market will give them advantage towards the international market.
And, could you give us some examples of private companies that are doing well in China in the field of AI?
A lot all right and if you look at consumer electronics, we have too many.
For example, one of them is anchored in Shenzhen.
They're exporting power banks and making tons of revenue and they're shifting their focus to robotics.
We see a lot of these small firms or small to medium -sized firms growing due to technology adoption.
And then for chip manufacturing, Of course we have Huawei, but we have a lot more than Huawei.
For example Rockchip in Fuzhou, they're building this beautiful ARM -based chips that sells very well.
So the examples are endless.
And what do you think are in their D &As that make them so successful in this fierce competition?
Well, I think China's firms, they are very hard working to start with, but I think the key trait is they are here to survive.
They're not afraid of competition, although the competition within a domestic market is already very fierce.
But a lot of firms are still able to survive through the scenario.
Once they go through the competition within China, that will give them a very big advantage in the international market.
The competition in the international market are not used to fierce competition like in the domestic market Dr. Liu Shaoxuan, director of embodied intelligence with Shenzhen Institute of artificial intelligence and robotics for society Talking with my colleague Zhao Yeom Coming up Dutch government collapses after far right leader quit coalition.
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The Dutch government has collapsed after Geert Wilders withdrew his far -right party from the governing coalition following a row over migration.
Prime Minister, Deik Schoof has confirmed that he is stepping down.
The coalition was in place for less than a year.
The row leading to its collapse came after Wilders pushed for 10 additional asylum measures.
Many political leaders argued that several of Welder's demands were similar to policies already in the coalition agreement.
So joining us now on the line is Professor Wang Yiwei, Director of European Studies with Renmin University of China.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Thank you. First of all, Professor Wang, does this collapse of the governing coalition come as a surprise to you?
Both surprise and not surprise.
will be surprised because of the NATO summit is coming in Hague at the end of this June.
So the Dutch government is collapsing and it is irresponsible, I think it's a surprise in this regard, the time is surprise.
But the collapse is not a surprise, in fact, because today many European elections make the right wing or either join the government or withdraw from the government or recently Poland and Romania's election also the right wing or they nearly be elected.
So these are quite popular, the rising of the populist and the unstable government in Europe.
So Mr. Wilder's anti -immigration far -right PVV was actually the largest party in the coalition time.
But due to some reason he didn't serve as the prime minister because of political compromise deal at the time, reached in 2024, I guess.
So putting that aside, what do you think this very fact that this party, PVV, won the largest number of votes in the Netherlands 2023 elections tells us?
Well, traditionally the Netherlands is very liberal.
You see in Amsterdam, there are so many so -called enjoy the freedom of the LGBT, the illegal migrants and all this.
But in recent years, particularly after the so -called refugee crisis in Europe, so the anti -Muslim, anti -migrants movement rising.
So this is too liberal in Netherlands.
At the same time, the shrinking of the middle class, because of the globalization, divided the countries, divided the Europe, so with the shrinking of the common values.
And then also the debt is huge for the government, so the people cannot accept so many refugees or migrants from abroad.
So that is the reason the far right, I think the forces are rising, so that is quite normal.
Wilders has told reporters that he intends to become prime minister of the Netherlands in the subsequent snap election.
Do you think he will make it?
Some people say his decision here to collapse the previous government is seen as reckless, And this very perception that he is putting his personal ambition above the national stability could complicate or weaken his capability to form alliances or coalition after the next election.
Do you think these arguments have a point?
Yes. You see in Germany, even the alternative party, you know, 20 percent of the majority, the second largest party in the parliament, but therefore the government collusion, they cannot accept it.
So that's reason in the Netherlands that they accept, however, they cannot be elected as a prime minister.
So that's reason the wonders use this crisis, a political crisis to, to let them to be elected in crisis period.
Now in a bigger picture sense, Professor Wang Iwei, What do you think this latest political episode in the Netherlands tells us about the far -right forces and their rivalry with other political forces or traditional mainstream political forces in Europe?
And to what extent do you think this Dutch government collapse would matter to the rest of Europe?
2 points. Number one, the traditional political parties cannot accept the right -wing, particularly the right -wing against the European integration, not just against globalisation.
So that's reason the right -wing that go to extreme, like a wondrous, you know, withdraw from the government.
So with the abnormality to get power.
And secondly, we should make the other traditional parties more difficult to accept the right -wing to join the party collusion with the Islamist government in the future.
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron went to Rome to held a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney.
This meeting was largely seen as a move or a signal for these two leaders of France and Italy to man their rifts and disagreements over a series of issues amid a series of external challenges for Europe ranging from the war in Ukraine to U .S. President Donald Trump and the tariffs from Trump Now, given the fact that the Italian prime minister actually has a far -right background, do you think this meeting in Rome on Tuesday tells us anything about the possible changes with regard to the dynamics of the far -right political forces in Europe?
Well, if we say so called the far right or right win there are different kinds of them.
Some of them they are extreme reason.
You know, they are anti -Muslim, anti -migrants, even want to withdraw from European Union like Brexit happened and also anti some people say anti -Jewish.
And also because of the Ukraine conflict, they're also against globalization.
So, this is quite far right to extremism.
Some of the traditional right -win, they are not so many dangerous to the European politics.
So, they are maybe right, middle and left. Traditionally the checks and balances of the European landscape, in a political scenario.
So now I think the most dangerous situation is that both anti European degradation and anti -cobalisation.
And then anti populist, anti we say elites.
So the rising of the populist then makes their traditional political values be diluted and then more unstable.
The final question before we let you go, Professor Wang.
Going back to our discussion surrounding the politics in the Netherlands, how would you expect the politics and the elections in this country to move forward or to occur in the foreseeable future?
Well, Netherlands is very quite a free trade supporter and also attract more investment from China and from abroad before.
So now the unstable government and also the right wing rising, I think it undermine the Netherlands position, you know, European Union and also in globalization.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Professor Wang Yiwei, director of European Studies with at Raming University of China.
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I'm Ding Hee Ling of Beijing.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now. you
