After the latest revelations about human rights violations, the federal government will apparently no longer protect VW in China for investments.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt For the first time, the Federal Ministry of Economics has refused a German company investment guarantees for China in connection with human rights violations against the Uyghurs. “The applications were related to a business location in the province of Xinjiang, or the connection could not be ruled out. The guarantees are no longer accepted,” a spokeswoman for the ministry told Reuters on Friday evening.
In this legislative period, however, 13 further applications for the assumption or extension of investment guarantees to protect against political risks in China were approved. The reason is that these applications had no relation to the Xinjiang Autonomous Province – “neither through direct activities there nor through business relationships with entities operating there”.
According to reports, the four rejected applications come from the Volkswagen Group, even if the ministry did not want to officially confirm this. VW confirmed the applications for investment guarantees on request. However, no response has yet been received from the federal government. The company also did not apply for a subsidy for the Xinjiang plant in question. There it would be about comparatively small investment amounts for VW. Without the guarantees, VW would have to bear the financial risks for its planned commitments in China alone. The “Spiegel” had first reported on the rejection and named VW as the company concerned.
A few days ago, new reports emerged about the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Chinese province. The federal government announced on Wednesday that it felt confirmed in the assumption of serious human rights violations and that it wanted to think about measures. According to the German supply chain law, companies must ensure that preliminary products are not created through forced labor.
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