The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) calls for limiting the involvement of Chinese companies in German seaports and digital infrastructure.
Following a debate between delegates at a national party conference in Riesa, a city in the eastern state of Saxony, the AfD adopted demands for inclusion in the party election manifesto.
“In general, seaports are part of the critical infrastructure and must therefore remain under German control,” said a motion approved by deputies.
Another motion that was approved read: “We reject the involvement of Chinese companies, which are de facto controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, in the expansion of the digital infrastructure in Germany.”
Opponents of the demands said Chinese companies should not be widely condemned. Moreover, they said it would be difficult for the German mobile network to function without technology from China.
Last year, the German government agreed to exclude components from Chinese telecom companies from the country’s 5G networks
The ports are also a latent problem. The Chinese state-owned company COSCO has a 24.99% stake in a container terminal in the port of Hamburg. COSCO originally wanted to acquire 35% of the CTT operating company.
However, several German ministries protested this, so the government set the threshold at less than 25% in 2023 to prevent COSCO from gaining a blocking minority, which would have given the Chinese greater influence.
Leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), parliamentary group in Thuringia, Bjoern Hoecke, speaks at his party’s national convention. Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
