Berlin The federal government still wants to stop the sale of the Dortmund company Elmos’ chip factory to a Chinese investor. The company announced this in an ad hoc announcement on Tuesday evening. The Federal Ministry of Economics informed those involved that the sale should already be prohibited in the cabinet meeting this Wednesday. The Handelsblatt had previously reported on the government’s decision. The traffic light is still responding to warnings from constitutional protection officers. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution had already warned against the takeover.
The President of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stephan Kramer, made a similar statement. The technology from Elmos doesn’t seem to be anything special anymore. “But if the production of such chips is placed in Chinese hands, the high economic dependency on China and Germany’s vulnerability will continue to grow,” Kramer told the Handelsblatt.
The buyer of the plant in Dortmund would have been the Swedish competitor Silex. The company is wholly owned by the Chinese group Sai Microelectronics. With the sale, Elmos would give up its chip production.
The week before last, the Handelsblatt reported that the federal government was planning to probably allow the sale to Silex. Even from circles in the China-critical Ministry of Economic Affairs, it was said that the takeover would not be a problem. The transaction worth 85 million euros does not play a major role, Elmos’ technology is outdated, the case can be clarified at the working level.
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Habeck got involved
But according to information from the Handelsblatt, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) has in the meantime dealt with the case himself and spoke out against the takeover, according to government circles. Elmos is also surprised that the government’s about-face has actually taken place. The ad hoc release states: “This is a new development as to date the BMWK has informed the parties involved that the transaction is likely to be approved.”
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According to reports, Habeck’s objection stems from the fact that, despite the small volume of the takeover, he wants to see the case as part of China’s overall strategy.
Other traffic light politicians are also in favor of a ban. “Anyone who sells such know-how to a country like China in these times is powdered with a staple bag,” said the chairman of the intelligence control committee of the Bundestag, Konstantin von Notz (Greens), the Handelsblatt.
The German automotive industry in particular is heavily dependent on semiconductors, which are indispensable for every modern vehicle.
(Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The deputy chairman of the committee, Roderich Kiesewetter (CDU), spoke of a “huge mistake” if the federal government approved the deal. The acquisition of relevant companies is “part of China’s hybrid strategy to maintain and consolidate control over supply chains in Europe, thereby gaining a competitive advantage,” he said.
>> Read also: How the chip companies in Europe can close a dangerous gap in the supply chain
The warnings of the protection of the constitution were similar. The German security authorities argue that, from their point of view, the semiconductor market is not just about the loss of know-how, but also about production capacities. According to this, China is specifically buying into industries in order to be able to exert pressure on individual countries.
He wonders “whether we aren’t already paying enough for the lesson with regard to the supply problems in the energy and Russia sectors, and when we finally start to think about the security of the Federal Republic of Germany in economic matters,” Thuringia’s top constitutional protection officer Kramer now agreed.
SPD reacts differently than at the port of Hamburg
The Elmos case also attracted more attention because major disagreements had arisen in the governing coalition shortly before over another Chinese takeover. Specifically, it was about the entry of the Chinese state shipping company Cosco at the smallest container terminal in the Port of Hamburg.
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All line ministries had spoken out against participation. The Federal Chancellery had contradicted this. Ultimately, Cosco had to reduce its stake and relinquish special rights. However, the Chinese investor was still able to get involved.
As a result, a public debate broke out about Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) allegedly being too close to China. The Greens and FDP want to prevent cases like this in the future by reforming foreign trade law. Prime Minister Scholz was also criticized for his trip to China last week.
While leading Social Democrats had defended the chancellor for his intervention at Cosco in Hamburg, it does not seem as if SPD representatives would again rebel against Minister of Economics Habeck’s preferred ban in the case of Elmos’ chip factory.
SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil recently said in an interview with the Handelsblatt that he saw the chip factory deal “much more critically than Cosco’s entry”. The co-leader of the Left Party, Member of the Bundestag Sebastian Roloff, has now declared: “China’s influence must be limited and, where possible, reduced.”
More: Five graphs showing Germany’s dependence on China.