Instead of taking a 35 percent stake in the Tollerort container terminal of the Hamburg port logistics group HHLA, the federal government now only approves a 24.9 percent stake for the Chinese. Is it right to approve the China engagement in the port of Hamburg? A pro and con.
For decades, the Federal Republic has allowed itself the luxury of neglecting geopolitical thinking. Now the price is due. Germany can be blackmailed economically. The Kremlin is letting us feel what that means. Blind faith in the energy partnership with Moscow was a serious political mistake. But it wasn’t the only one.
Dependence on China, be it for critical raw materials, complex network technology or simply purchasing power, poses an even greater risk to security and prosperity.
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It follows that Germany must become more resilient. It does not follow from this to question all connections to the People’s Republic. The decision pushed through by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to allow the Chinese state shipping company Cosco to take over a minority stake in a terminal in the port of Hamburg is in order.
The debate of the past few days has not provided a compelling argument against entry. Above all, it is abstract concerns that concern the critics.
Germany would tie itself even more closely to China, the 24.9 percent stake could open the door to further acquisitions: While this is not wrong, it is also not convincing. Berlin should concentrate on areas where there are specific dangers. About the 5G network. It is incomprehensible that the Interior Ministry has not yet ordered the systematic removal of components from the controversial Chinese Huawei group.
>> Your comment in the Handelsblatt: What do you think of the Port of Hamburg’s deal with Cosco? Send us your opinion.
If China attacks Taiwan and the EU, see Russia, reacts with sanctions, no one can rely on the German mobile network still working. On the other hand, it is unclear how Beijing could convert a terminal share into an economic weapon.
The most compelling argument against Cosco is that the deal sends the wrong signal at a time when Europe is realizing its vulnerability. But the government could also counter this criticism with a clear course on the 5G issue without weakening the most important port compared to Antwerp and Rotterdam.
Cons: The decision to invest in the Chinese port of Hamburg is a mistake
by Dana Heide
The fact that the Federal Chancellery is ignoring the concerns and urgent warnings of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, experts and security experts and wants to push through the participation of the Chinese state-owned company Cosco in the port of Hamburg against all resistance is a mistake.
It’s not about how high the participation is – whether it’s 35 percent or 24.9 percent, as it is now planned. The point is that a Chinese state-owned company, which is also embedded in a huge, powerful conglomerate of a total of 97 state-owned companies, is granted rights to invest in another European port that put it in an even better competitive position. Rights that European companies de facto do not have in China.
(Photo: Burkhard Mohr)
The deal will further cement the giant group’s superior position. Dependence on China will inevitably increase – in an area as sensitive as maritime transport, of all things. The danger that arises from this is very real: Beijing has repeatedly shown in recent years that it exploits economic dependencies in order to assert its political interests.
Those in favor of participation contradict themselves: on the one hand, they say that it is only a very small part of the port that is at stake. On the other hand, they warn that if China does not get involved, it would be a “disaster” not only for Hamburg but for all of Germany. In doing so, they show once again that parts of it are already there, the dependency on China.
With the decision to invest in the Chinese state-owned company, the federal government is also damaging its credibility – because it is once again putting individual economic interests above the big picture. If she even increases her dependency on China even further – how will she convince the German economy that it should become more independent of China – like the rest of Europe?
More: Criticism of the planned port compromise – Greens and FDP warn of new dependencies