Berlin is revisiting its previous decision to allow the Chinese giant Kosko to receive interest in one of the three terminals containers logistics company HHLA at port from HamburgThis was announced on Wednesday by a spokesman for the German Ministry of Finance. Representative of the Ministry of Finance Germany He made the comments after it was revealed that the Tolerort terminal was designated critical infrastructure earlier this year, threatening to reignite a political backlash against the country over the risks of Chinese investment in the German economy, Reuters reported.
At the same time, he stressed that at this stage it is being determined whether and under what conditions Cosco will be allowed to acquire a stake in the terminal.
Chancellor of Germany Olaf Soltz Last October gave Cosco the go-ahead to acquire a 24.9% stake in the Tolerort terminal, overcoming strong opposition from its ruling coalition allies. At the time, according to a Spiegel poll, 81% of Germans were opposed to the participation of a Chinese company in the management of the port, although Olaf Scholz was in favor of this investment from the very beginning. Reuters, in its report, cited a warning from the German foreign ministry, which stated that Cosco’s investment “expands its strategic influence disproportionately.” China on the transport infrastructure of Germany and Europe, and on Germany’s dependence on China.”
The warning highlighted “the significant risks that exist when parts of the European infrastructure are controlled by China while China does not allow Germany to participate in Chinese ports” and concludes that “the capture of the terminal in question has not only an economic but also a particularly geopolitical significance. measurement”.
On the other hand, supporters of the deal last October stressed that the sale of Cosco’s stake would allow the German port to remain competitive with others as competition for trade with China intensifies. In response to the criticism he received for his decision to sell the Hamburg container terminal to China, the German chancellor stressed last October that it was not a sale of either the port or the terminal, but “merely” a stake in the terminal.
Source: Kathimerini
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