Despite recent steps to appease the Communist nation, leftist-run Germany has banned an attempt by China to buy a microchip facility in the country.
A Chinese takeover of a microchip wafer manufacturing plant in Dortmund has been blocked by the German government, with officials in the country deeming that such a sale poses a significant security risk to the state.
Despite internal resistance, authorities in Berlin have largely been operating a system of appeasement towards Communist China, allowing critical port infrastructure to be sold to companies operating within the foreign power late last month.
However, ministers in the country appear to have now put their foot down on the issue of Communist takeovers, with Bild reporting that the Federal government has banned Elmos, a semiconductor company, from selling part of its manufacturing business to a subsidiary of the Chinese Sai Group.
Speaking on Tuesday, officials from within the German Federal Ministry for Economics said that the sale of the Dortmund plant would endanger public order and security in the country, with nothing short of a ban on the sale being seen as sufficient to mitigate such risks.
Robert Habeck, who serves as the country’s Minister for Economics, meanwhile emphasised that chip manufacturing in particular was an extremely critical technological area that China was looking to get ahead of the West on, and as such, should be treated with greater sensitivity.
Germany Swears it Stands by Taiwan Despite Chancellor Permitting Sale of Major Infrastructure to Chinahttps://t.co/qQLWFxLDuX
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 25, 2022
With German authorities having largely looked to appease Chinese interests — having made the Communist nation its single biggest trading partner — it is somewhat surprising that the sale of the factory was successfully blocked by authorities.
By contrast, the sale of similar critical infrastructure in the port of Hamburg to China was allowed to occur without hindrance, despite many warnings from senior authorities that it would make Germany overly reliant on the authoritarian superpower.
Even Robert Habeck opposed the sale of the port infrastructure, suggesting at the time that Germany could be opening itself up for “blackmail” should it make itself dependent on China.
However, the country’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, forced the deal through despite the many concerns, before proceeding to visit Beijing where he pushed for his country to establish deeper ties with the Communist nation.
“We do not believe in ideas of decoupling [from Communist China] but it is also clear that that has something to do with economic ties as equals, with reciprocity,” Scholz told reporters during the visit.
German intelligence has meanwhile described Scholz’s attempt to court the nation as “naive“, and that it will only lead to the country becoming more vulnerable to China.
Fool Me Twice: German Intel Warns ‘Naive’ Govt Against Falling Into Trap of Over-Reliance on Chinahttps://t.co/3eNr6myxYn
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 19, 2022
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