Could be reduced to about 25% the presence of the Chinese of Cosco in the port of Hamburg from the initial 35%, but the topic is definitely still in the heart of the discussion within the German executive, given the latest international developments, and there could be unforeseen news.
The presence of the Chinese – already majority shareholders of the ports of Zeebrugge in Belgium, Piraeus in Greece and Valencia in Spain – in the most important maritime infrastructure for Germany but also for Europe, creates uncertainties also in Italy as the same port of Hamburg in turn owns 50,01 percent of the port of Trieste, while the same Chinese have precise aims also on our ports of Napoli e Taranto.
The government of the chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was mayor of for years Hamburg, is facing a key moment and with tight deadlines regarding the decision to open to the Chinese state-owned company, just after the closure of the national congress of the Chinese Communist Party which reconfirmed Xi Jinping, for a historic third term, general secretary of the Communist Party and head of the central military commission, defined in the constitution of the Party-State as the "centre" of every idea and every choice.
Port of Hamburg: the agreement with Cosco expires in a few days
The story started in 2021, when Hhla (Hamburger Hafen und Logistik) the company that manages the Hanseatic airport, undertook to sell to the Chinese state company Cosco Shipping Ports Limited (CSPL) for a 65 billion euro share of the structure, with the idea of making it a "privileged hub" for the goods handled by the Chinese company.
The operation still awaits the opinion of the federal authority, which has time until the 31 October. But in these 12 months the world has changed and in Germany there is a large front of opponents ready to block the agreement.
This morning some German press, in particular Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Handelsblatt, report that the Chinese company Cosco could receive authorization from the German government to acquire part of the Tollerort terminal, the smallest of the four container terminals in the Port of Hamburg, but only for 24,9 pct and not for 35 pct as per the first agreement with Hhla.
Part of the German government now opposed to the Chinese presence
Would this be a compromise inside theGerman executive, given that six ministries have so far said they are against the deal, while with a 24,9% share, Cosco could not formally exercise influence over the management of one of the four terminals. In addition to Foreign Affairs and Economy (led by the Greens) and by Transportation and Justice, liberal-led, the no's also come from Interior and Defense, both headed by ministers of the SPD, Scholz's party.
Particularly Greens and liberals they are putting heavy pressure on Scholz to block the deal, putting beware of the risks. “We shouldn't repeat the same ones mistakes of the past, making us dependent on countries that may one day blackmail us”, said Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor, Robert Habeck, engaged in a sort of screening of foreign investment in Germany, mindful of the recent experience with Russia, which on federal territory owned and operated infrastructure such as gas depots and oil refineries, now confiscated. "I'm in favor of not allowing it," Habeck told Reuters. He also tried to bring the matter to the agenda of a federal cabinet meeting to formally oppose the takeover, but Scholz's chancellery stalled and this postponement could cause the contractual terms set for the end of October to expire, after which the transaction would be considered legally authorised.
The liberal Minister of Justice, Marco, was even more explicit Buschman: "No critical German infrastructure must fall under the control of the Chinese government." The same Scholz, who was mayor of Hamburg for years, at the end of EU Energy Council, pressed by journalists, had to admit: "Nothing has been decided on the possible entry of the Chinese into Hamburg, many questions remain to be clarified".
Xi Jinping's aims: is it just trade? Scholz in Beijing
Putting a hand on the precious and strategic German port of call is a perfect assist to Silk Road and to the geopolitical aims of Xi Jinping and its state company. The Chinese player is not his first time in the area, as he already owns stakes in the two major continental ports, Rotterdam and Antwerp, without forgetting that it is in the process of presenting a project to expand a railway terminal inside Duisburg where the Ruhr and Rhine rivers meet. It is a fundamental junction for the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), from where the Chinese industrial hubs pass.
For November 3th Scholz he has a plane ticket to Beijing in his pocket, the first Western leader to visit China since the end of the pandemic, meeting Xi Jinping in person. The chancellor will bring with him a large crowd of German entrepreneurs, ready to sign contracts and memoranda of understanding.
