When FDP leader Christian Lindner greeted the delegates at the 2019 national party conference in Chinese, it was simply a recognition of global realities. Six years ago, it should have been clear in every European capital how China’s quest for power is manifesting itself at all levels. And that Europe must develop an equal level of discussion and an appropriate strategy in its dialog with Beijing. Even if the global hype surrounding the Chinese AI model Deepseek has subsided for the time being, it is finally becoming clear what kind of challenger the world is up against. The social penetration and explosive power of the video app TikTok should not go unmentioned.