German government halts two planned China deals – “public order is at risk”

The German government has made a port deal possible, but other China deals are now banned. It concerns two German companies in the electronics industry. The economy minister says that Germany is an open market economy, but not naive.

Specifically, the federal cabinet on Wednesday banned the sale of a chip production facility by the Dortmund company Elmos to a Chinese company Federal Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens) said. Elmos made this public.

The other case is subject to the company’s trade secrets, so he can’t go into details, Habeck said. According to the Handelsblatt, the second case of prohibition concerns the acquisition of the The Bavaria-based company ERS Electronic by a Chinese investor. ERS Electronic is a global company in the semiconductor equipment industry.

How does the Minister of Economic Affairs argue?

Habeck said Germany is an open market economy and foreign investment is welcome. “But an open market economy is not a naive market economy.”

China is and must remain a trading partner. But a conscious strategic approach is seen, especially in the field of semiconductors and microchip manufacturing.

Trade and power interests could be used for power politics and possibly against the interests of the Federal Republic. In addition, foreign trade law is a very sharp sword. “And we’ll continue to tighten it up going forward,” Habeck says. Dependencies need to be reduced in certain critical sectors.

Sale of chip production banned

In the case of Elmos, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the ban applies because the takeover would endanger public order and safety in Germany. Milder means, such as conditional purchase approval, are not suitable for removing the identified dangers.

At the end of last year, the Dortmund company Elmos announced that it wanted to sell the production of so-called wafers in Dortmund to the Swedish competitor Silex for a total of around 85 million euros. Silex is a subsidiary of the Chinese Sai Group.

Elmos announced Monday evening that the federal government would probably ban the sale of the chip production. This is a new development.

Port deal approved against opposition

Against opposition from various departments and at the insistence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), the cabinet recently decided that the Chinese group Cosco may take a 24.9 percent stake in a terminal in the port of Hamburg – instead of the planned 35 percent. .

Several ministers, including Habeck, wanted to ban participation completely. The chancellor emphasized that it was not about the sale of the port, but “just” an interest in one terminal.

(dsc/sda/awp/dpa)