The Chancellor has just put an end to a long dispute over nuclear energy, and a new controversy is emerging within the federal government. It’s about future relations with China. The planned entry of Chinese companies into the container terminal in Hamburg becomes a test for the office of Olaf Scholz (SPD). Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) warned on Friday (October 21) against new addictions, as did the politicians of the co-leading FDP. Scholz said after the EU summit in Brussels that nothing had been settled yet. “There are still many questions to be clarified,” said the head of government.
Scholz noted that it was not a question of selling the port, but of sharing the terminal, as is the case in some Western European ports. Scholz was previously mayor of Hamburg.
Fears of becoming dependent on China
On the sidelines of the Prime Ministers’ Conference in Hanover, Habeck said that the question of whether a partial sale could be approved was an “internal act of the government”, which he did not want to comment on and therefore blackmailed us, is no longer an abstract phenomenon, but as the example of Russian gas shows, “a reality in this world”. “We must not repeat these mistakes,” said the Vice-Chancellor.
The context of the dispute is the contract concluded in 2021 between the logistics operator of the Port of Hamburg HHLA and the Chinese terminal operator Cosco Shipping Ports Limited on the transfer of 35% of the shares of the Tollerort terminal in Hamburg belonging to HHLA. The foreign trade regulation allows the Ministry of Economy to refuse an investor from a non-EU country to enter a German company that supports, for example, critical infrastructure.
Contract close to entry into force?
According to information from public broadcasters NDR and WDR, other ministries, in addition to the Ministry of Economy, are also refusing Chinese entry to the terminal. The chancellor’s office was not supposed to put the review process on the cabinet agenda so far, but instructed the relevant ministries to seek a compromise that would make the contract possible. A decision on an agreement with China within the German government could be taken soon. If the Federal Cabinet fails to pass a resolution or the deadline is not extended, the contract will automatically go into effect, according to media reports. It may be late October. It is also possible that the entry of a Chinese operator will be subject to strict conditions.
For China, port shares are an important part of China’s Belt and Road Infrastructure Initiative (BRI). Launched in 2013 by party leader Xi Jinping, it aims to create trade corridors not only on land but also by sea – in other words, it’s the ‘Sea Silk Road’ (MSR) with shares in many important ports along the sea routes to and from China.
Ports are a way to build power
According to unconfirmed media reports, Chinese investments around the world are present in around 100 ports in around 60 countries. First of all, the public companies Cosco (China Ocean Shipping Company) and China Merchants Group are present, as well as the private company Hong Kong CK. Hutchinson is very active with close ties to China. Seven of the ten most important ports in the world are located in the Middle Kingdom.
From the perspective of military strategists, port control has always been one of the most important pillars of sea power. In Europe, Chinese companies have stakes in more than a dozen ports, including Le Havre and Dunkirk in France, Antwerp and Bruges in Belgium, as well as in Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece.
German intelligence services believe Beijing’s leaders are using espionage and cyberspace activities to boost their presence in global markets. The president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, has long warned that “we must not allow ourselves to become dependent.” the possibility of sabotage does not open up – he said last Monday at a meeting of the parliament’s supervisory body of the Bundestag.
China divides politicians
FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr told the Rheinische Post: “I think it is wrong that an authoritarian regime has an impact on our critical infrastructure.” This also applies to the port of Hamburg. According to the politician, you shouldn’t put everything on one card and get hooked. Green Party leader Omid Nouripour told Deutschlandfunk radio that possible participation in the terminal means access to all information and documents will be needed. He pointed out that the terminal serves all the Chinese and Asian activities of the port of Hamburg. This means that a Chinese shareholder would also have influence over Taiwanese freighters.
Hamburg Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD) tweeted that it was not a “China SellOut”. “Many self-proclaimed port experts from all over Germany should stick to the facts,” he said. that the entry of the Chinese company into the terminal does not mean access to the port of Hamburg and to HHLA itself, nor access to strategic know-how. Cosco would not have the exclusive right to the terminal. Therefore, there would be no addiction, says HHLA. On the contrary, it strengthens supply chains, creates jobs and supports the German economy,” said a spokesperson for the Hamburg-based company.
afp / august
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