Enlarge image
A passenger ship in front of the port of Hamburg
Photo: Georg Wendt / dpa
The Chinese state-owned company wants to get involved with a Hamburg container terminal - that's why there is a dispute in the traffic light coalition.
The FDP and Greens opposed Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), who apparently wants to push through the deal, contrary to the position of the six federal ministries involved in the review.
The FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann criticized the chancellor's office.
»What else has to happen in the world for Germany to arrive in reality and not behave in front of the enemies of the free democratic world?
A sale of critical infrastructure to China is a blatant mistake and should be stopped," said the defense politician.
The background to the dispute is an agreement concluded in 2021 between the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA and the Chinese terminal operator Cosco on a 35 percent stake by the Chinese in the HHLA terminal in Tollerort in the Hanseatic city.
The federal government could prohibit entry.
Proponents of the deal, such as Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher, argue that the group does not have access to the critical infrastructure and that the property remains in the public domain.
Hofreiter: "It would be a geostrategic mistake"
FDP faction leader Christian Dürr told the "Rheinische Post" on Friday: "I think it's wrong for an authoritarian regime to influence our critical infrastructure." That also applies to the port of Hamburg.
You shouldn't put everything on one card and make yourself too dependent.
»We should learn from the mistakes of the past – and find ways to trade without making ourselves vulnerable to blackmail.«
The Greens European politician Anton Hofreiter made a similar statement.
"Germany must not repeat the mistakes in dealing with China that we have made with Russia over the past 20 years," said the representative of the Funke media group.
“It would be a geostrategic mistake to sell parts of the Port of Hamburg to China.” Opposition politicians were also critical on Thursday.
Green faction leader Katharina Dröge told SPIEGEL on Thursday: "We must not repeat the mistakes of the past.
China is using the acquisition of critical infrastructure around the world in a targeted manner to exert political influence.« (Read more about the port uprising and the role of Kanzler Scholz in it here).
HHLA is confident
SPD parliamentary group leader Detlef Müller warned of dependencies on China.
It was "right and important" that the possible participation "is examined very carefully in order to rule out dependencies on China," he told the dpa news agency.
The port infrastructure must remain in public hands.
In Müller's opinion, this is also the case with a minority stake in the terminal's operating company, because it rents the terminal areas from the Hanseatic city.
"However, it must be ensured that the IT infrastructure including data is secured against Chinese access and that the terminal remains accessible to other customers," said Müller.
It is also clear that the Port of Hamburg is in competition with other ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp and therefore wants to prevent locational disadvantages.
Meanwhile, the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA remains optimistic that the federal government will approve the deal.
»HHLA is still in the ongoing process of granting the required investment approval.
HHLA is not aware of any negative attitude from six federal ministries,” said an HHLA spokesman on Thursday.
HHLA was not given any factual reasons in the proceedings that would speak against approving the investment.
kko/dpa