The German cabinet agreed on a compromise in the dispute over China’s Cosco buying a stake in a Hamburg port terminal, news agencies reported on Wednesday, citing government sources.
The compromise allows Chinese shipping giant Cosco to take a smaller stake of 24.9% instead of the the initially planned 35%. The initial deal was widely criticized as it would have given Cosco a major stake in Germany’s largest port.
A dispute between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and several government ministries had ensued over the bid, leading to the negotiation of the newly-announced compromise.
Economy minister Robert Habeck was one of the politicians voicing concerns about Germany selling critical infrastructure to China. But supporters of the deal claim that it will allow the port to stay competitive against others as the race for Chinese trade increases.
The decision comes as Germany tries to strike a balance between maintaining ties with its biggest trade partner, China, while avoiding heavy reliance on it.
Tensions between China and Western countries have deteriorated recently. During a NATO summit last summer, member-states declared China as a “security challenge.”
What is the reaction to the revised deal?
Government officials told German news agency DPA the revised share for Cosco was an “emergency solution” to save the deal without giving the Chinese company any substantive influence on the management of the important terminal.
Initial media reports citing sources close to the negotiations suggest that Cosco might agree to the smaller stake deal.
However, Germany’s ministries of economy and foreign affairs continued to caution against the deal.
Lawmaker Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, described the deal, even after the amended stake, as a mistake. She stressed to DPA that it wouldn’t be sound to compromise with a Chinese company amid the current “times of great uncertainty.”
Zimmerman is a member of the business-friendly Free Democrats (FPD), the smallest party in Germany’s ruling coalition, which also compromises the Green Party and Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD). The deal has also been criticized by Green politicians and the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU).
Marcel Fratzscher, the head of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) also slammed the proposed compromise.
“The German government is repeating the mistake of many previous federal governments” by prioritizing “short-term economic interests over long-term prosperity and prosperity and stability,” he told Reuters news agency.
Sino-German relations in the spotlight
The news of the compromise comes as Scholz prepares to visit China next week.
During Angela Merkel’s nearly 16 years as chancellor between 2005 and 2021, Sino-German trade ties flourished, with Merkel often favoring engagement with Beijing rather than confrontation.
The current coalition government under Scholz, however, has seen some voices calling for a harder stance on Beijing. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a member of the Green Party, has been particularly keen on calling out China on human rights issues such as the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
los, rmt/es (dpa, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-agrees-on-compromise-over-china-port-bid-reports/a-63547949?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf