Politicians and NGOs are demanding that exports of so-called dual-use goods be tightened.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The number stands out: In 2021, the Federal Ministry of Economics approved around 2.5 billion euros in goods that can be used not only for civilian but also for military purposes for export to China.
Although the People’s Republic has been increasingly aggressive in foreign policy for years, almost half of all approved exports of so-called dual-use goods went to the autocratic country. This emerges from a report by the Federal Ministry of Economics, which is available to the Handelsblatt. In 2018, exports to China were still 2.2 billion euros.
The second largest recipient country for export licenses for so-called dual-use goods in 2021 was Russia with goods worth around 660 million euros – however, due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, it is now forbidden to sell any dual-use goods to Russia.
“Dual-use items” are products that can be used for both civil and military purposes. This includes data processing programs and other technologies, but also machines that can be used for the production of everyday products as well as weapons. The Federal Office for Economics and Export Control (BAFA), which reports to the Federal Ministry of Economics, decides whether they may be sold in another country.
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China is becoming increasingly aggressive on the foreign policy stage, with Beijing recently massively stepping up its military maneuvers near Taiwan. In addition, the Chinese government has been upgrading the army for years. A special feature of the Chinese system is that it is the declared goal of politics to increasingly merge civil and military areas, for example in the economy. There has been an arms embargo against Beijing for a long time, which means that German armaments companies are not allowed to deliver weapons to the People’s Republic.
>> Read here: The Human Rights Committee of the Bundestag travels to Taiwan at the end of October
Coalition politicians and NGOs are calling for stricter restrictions on the export of so-called dual-use goods. “The high number of approved dual-use exports to China documents a chapter in security policy that has now passed,” says Reinhard Houben, economic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group.
Houben calls for stricter export control rules. “In the course of the turning point, it would be irresponsible to stick to business as usual here. The growing caution towards systemic rivals like China must also be reflected in the military area.” Export controls must take the new reality into account, especially with regard to the tense situation around Taiwan.
Demand for stricter rules
“The license value for dual-use exports from Germany to China is surprisingly high, given the risks that may be involved,” says Mathias John, an expert on business, armaments and human rights at the human rights organization Amnesty International in Germany.
Dhe Chinese government has been upgrading the army for years.
(Photo: dpa)
According to John, a detailed assessment cannot be made without knowing the type and scope of approved dual-use exports. However, if engines that can be used for large agricultural equipment are supplied, but then used in Chinese military vehicles and possibly then exported from China to other states critical of human rights, this cannot be in line with a restrictive German arms export policy.
>> Read here: Comment: Three criteria for a new China strategy
Experts keep expressing concerns, and not only with regard to the potential military use of European products by China. Many are also critical of the provision of technology from Europe for the expansion of the increasingly expansive Chinese surveillance system.
A renewed version of the EU Dual-Use Regulation, which came into force last year, aimed to take account of the technical and geopolitical developments of recent years. However, FDP economic politician Houben is also calling for an update to the Foreign Trade Ordinance, one of the key German regulations that regulates the export of dual-use goods. According to Houben, this should not only provide for a stricter test regime for China, but also enable closer cooperation with Germany’s democratic partners, such as South Korea.
More: Germany hardly ever exports arms to non-friendly states