For the second time within a few days, Chancellor Scholz has decided over the heads of the ministers on a controversial issue at traffic lights. The coalition partners accept the extension of the lifespan of the nuclear power plants, and several ministers from the FDP and the Greens do not want to accept the Cosco deal.
In the traffic light government, there is clear criticism of the promise of limited entry by the Chinese shipping company Cosco into an operating company at a terminal in the port of Hamburg. “The acquisition of shares in the container terminal in Tollerort by the Chinese state shipping company Cosco disproportionately expands China’s strategic influence on the German and European transport infrastructure as well as Germany’s dependence on China,” according to a memorandum available to the Reuters news agency, which the Federal Foreign Office brought to the cabinet .
According to information from government circles, the FDP-led ministries and the Federal Ministry of Economics also endorsed the note. They could not prevent entry because the decided limit of 24.9 percent instead of the planned 35 percent falls below the approval threshold. However, the Cosco participation endangers the success of the European project of the trans-European transport network TEN-T, in which the port of Hamburg plays a special role.
“On behalf of the Federal Foreign Office, I expressly point out the considerable risks that arise when elements of the European transport infrastructure are influenced and controlled by China – while China itself does not allow Germany to participate in Chinese ports,” says the note, which the Minister of State for Europe Anna Lührmann introduced the department to the cabinet meeting. China has already clearly shown that it is willing to use economic measures to achieve political goals. “In this respect, the acquisition of the container terminal not only has an economic, but above all a geopolitical component.”
The Chancellery and the City of Hamburg, on the other hand, had pointed out that it was an operating company and not ownership of the terminal itself. In the event of a crisis, the acquisition of China would open up the possibility of politically exploiting part of the critical infrastructure of Germany and Europe, the Federal Foreign Office criticizes. This would affect supply chains and security of supply. Reference is also made to the “irritation” of western partners.
Cosco should not be given any codecision rights to influence trade and financial decisions. In a statement, however, the Ministry of Economic Affairs pointed out that this was precisely what was excluded with the partial ban and the ban on special rights in the case of participation.
