The Chinese shipping company Cosco wants to buy a 35 percent share in a terminal in the port of Hamburg – and unlike six of its ministers, Chancellor Olaf Scholz thinks that is a great idea. A decision must be made within a week on Cosco’s purchase of the share in a container terminal. Scholz (SPD), who was mayor of Hamburg between 2011 and 2018, is in line with his successor in Hamburg, Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) in favor of the Chinese purchase.
Cosco (‘China Ocean Shipping Company’) is the largest shipping company in China. The state-owned company also owns 35 percent of a terminal in the port of Rotterdam, and a majority stake in the port of the Greek Piraeus.
The Ministry of Economy, led by Robert Habeck (Greens), which must approve the investment, wants to thwart the sale. According to the ministry, the terminal is “critical infrastructure” that should not be in foreign hands. According to mayor Tschentscher, this is exaggerated, and the buyer will not have any “strategic influence” on the port. In addition to Habeck’s ministry and his party the Greens, coalition partner FDP and opposition party CDU are also against the deal.
German intelligence services were also critical. Bruno Kahl, the chief of the Bundesnachrichtendienst, the foreign intelligence service, called the port “critical infrastructure, of course.” The president of the domestic service, Thomas Haldenwang, referred to the long-term view as “Russia the storm, China the climate change.” Critics point to the importance of China, through its share in the terminal, to be able to collect data on flows of goods and possibly even stocks of raw materials in ports worldwide.
Depends on Russian gas
There is also criticism of Scholz’s course from abroad. The European Commission advised Germany not to close the deal in the spring. While French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized last Friday that Europe had been “naive” and sold infrastructure like “an open supermarket”, Scholz said the same day that there is no need for a major overhaul of relations with China. Scholz will travel to China for a day in early November to meet Xi Jinping. The patience with Germany in a European context will be limited, because Germany previously made itself so dependent on Russian gas, and now gives the impression that it has not learned from previous mistakes.
A spokesman for Scholz responded on Monday to the international criticism with reference to the terminals in Rotterdam and Zeebrugge (where Cosco owns an 85 percent terminal). The case is still being thoroughly investigated, according to the spokesman, especially with the experiences of the past few months in mind.
If the government in Berlin does not object, the sale will be closed on October 31. In order to extend the term in which the government can reach a decision, Cosco must also give its approval.
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