German government is over-relying on China, warn Berlin spy chiefs

2022-10-19

‘Naive’ German government is blundering out of the frying pan into the fire by over-relying on China after Merkel’s gas deals with Putin sparked energy crisis, Berlin intelligence warns

Germany’s three spy chiefs warned not politicians to repeat mistakes with Russia
China has been conducting spy operations on the German military, they said
‘If Russia is a storm, China is climate change,’ said one head of intelligence
Chinese firm COSCO is set to acquire a 35% stake in German container terminal

The head of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence service warned parliamentarians in Berlin not to be ‘naïve’ about China after Angela Merkel’s dealings with Moscow left Germany over-reliant on Russian oil and gas.

Federal Intelligence Service President Bruno Kahl made the remarks in an annual public hearing of Germany’s three main spy agencies on Monday, calling into question Germany’s relationship with China.

President of Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) Martina Rosenberg was also present, as was the president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BAMAD), Thomas Haldenwang.

In an annual public hearing before the Bundestag, the three spy chiefs warned about the threat form China, asking the German government not to repeat the same mistakes it made when dealing with Vladimir Putin.

China has been conducting ‘sophisticated’ spying operations on the German military for years, said MAD President Rosenberg.

The news came in the same week that Germany removed the country’s cybersecurity chief after allegations emerged of his links to Russian intelligence.

Former chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured) infamously agreed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline with Russia, tying Germany’s energy policy with the Kremlin. Federal Intelligence Service President Bruno Kahl (not pictured) on Monday warned parliamentarians in Berlin not to be ‘naïve’ about China and repeat the same mistakes in made with Russia

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping are pictured. The spy chiefs said Germany would be better off if the parliament had headed the advice of intelligence services in the past

Three German spy chiefs warned German politicians not to be ‘naïve’ about Germany’s relationship with China, asking them not to repeat the same mistakes made with Russia. Thomas Haldenwang, president of the BfV, stands left, while Martina Rosenberg, president of BAMAD is in the centre, and Bruno Kahl, president of BND, stands on the right

‘If Russia is a storm, China is climate change,’ said BfV President Haldenwang, trying to impress the gravity of the situation on to the parliament, according to DW.

Kahl said Germany would be better off if the parliament had headed the advice of intelligence services in the past, accusing law makers of brushing off warnings from the three agencies.

The spy chiefs used Russia as an example, explaining that they had warned politicians for years over the risks that relying on oil and gas from Moscow posed to energy security.

Germany has been forced to upend its energy policy and spend billions on alternative supplies of oil and gas, despite a push toward renewables, in order to both meet the energy demand of its citizens and cut off funding to Putin.

Their warnings over Russian aggression against Ukraine had been brushed of as scaremongering, they claimed.

Germany should not make the same mistake when it comes to China, the chiefs added.

German businesses have invested heavily in China, despite warnings from allies that Chinese state-affiliated companies often steal intellectual property from rivals.

Thomas Haldenwang, the new President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), stands during a press conference. He said Germany could not allow a situation in which the Chinese state is able to influence political events in the country

The president of the German Federal Intelligence Agency (BND), Bruno Kahl, attends the opening ceremony of the new BND. Kahl said Germany would be better off if the parliament had headed the advice of intelligence services in the past

Martina Rosenberg, President of the Federal Office for the Military Counter-Intelligence Service (BAMAD), is pictured. She said China has been conducting ‘sophisticated’ spying operations on the German military for years

Volkswagen announced last week it will invest €2.4 billion (£2billion) with China’s Horizon Robotics.

Kalh highlighted a proposal from a Chinese shipping giant COSCO to acquire a 35% stake in Hamburg’s container terminal.

About one third of cargo handled at the Port of Hamburg comes from and goes to China, said CEO Axel Mattern, who called the move a ‘pure business decision’.

But Beijing has a history of acquiring foreign ports in strategic locations to gain political advantage, such as the Hambantota port which Sri Lanka signed over to China on a 99-year lease after it found itself unable to repay the Chinese loans it took out to build the port in the first place.

‘We must not allow a situation in which the Chinese state can influence political events in Germany,’ said BfV President Haldenwang.

China’s strategy of becoming a global technology leader by 2049 also relies heavily on copying scientific developments from countries like Germany.

‘I believe that a great change in awareness has already set in but of course there is a lot of trust and naivety in the scientific field, that is not appropriate,’ said Kahl.

Arne Schoenbohm, President of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI),is pictured. He was fired by Germany’s cybersecurity chief on Tuesday after an investigation was launched into his ties with Russia

Germany’s interior ministry fired the country’s cybersecurity chief on Tuesday and launched an investigation into his conduct after allegations were made that he may have come into contact with Russian security circles through a consultancy he co-founded.

Arne Schoenbohm came under scrutiny in recent weeks after a satire TV show highlighted his ties with a cybersecurity consultancy, which it alleged was ultimately a subsidiary of a Russian firm founded by a former KGB employee.

Schoenbohm had co-founded the Cyber Security Council Germany to advise companies and authorities on cybersecurity matters in 2012 before in 2016 being appointed head of BSI, the federal information security agency.

A spokesperson for the interior ministry, now run by the Social Democrats, said Schoenbohm was dismissed because the allegations had ‘permanently damaged the necessary public confidence in the neutrality and impartiality of his conduct in his office as president of Germany’s most important cybersecurity authority’.

Schoenbohm said he had himself on Monday asked the ministry to launch an investigation.

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