Radio Free Asia (October 28) reported that on October 27, the German newspaper Handelsblatt
cited government sources that the German Economy Ministry is reviewing a deal for German
chipmaker Elmos, proposed by a China-controlled company. Last December, Elmos,
headquartered in Dortmund, agreed to sell its production line to Swedish chipmaker Silex, a
wholly owned subsidiary of China’s Sai Microelectronics Group. The Federal Office for the
Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the country’s chief domestic intelligence agency, gave
advanced warning to the government and advised against the deal because China’s mastery of
the key technology would enable it to put pressure on Germany. Handelsblatt revealed that the
German federal government neglected the advice and was ready to approve the deal. Aniessa
Andresen, Chairperson of the Hong Konger in Germany, told Radio Free Asia that Germany
continues to sell its own infrastructure projects and key technological companies to China, even
though it has realized that it cannot rely on China. It is puzzling and worrying that the chip deal
is still going forward even after warnings from German intelligence agencies. Andresen called
on Germany not to become a pawn of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). German Economy
Minister Robert Habeck, who resisted the acquisition of the Hamburg port terminal by the
Chinese state-owned COSCO Group, did not take the same tough stance in the chip deal, giving
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the reason that “Elmos” technology was “obsolete” and of little value, and that the Chinese
could not acquire the needed technology to drive its development. Taiwanese political
researcher Li Youtan pointed out that the “Elmos” incident is similar to China’s acquisition
last year of the UK’s chip plant Newport Wafer Fab through the Dutch firm Nexperia, which
is controlled by China’s Wintel Technology Corporation. Li believes that the CCP has shown
its ambition to dominate the world after the 20th National Congress but is thwarted by its lack
of chip technology. If Germany allows the Elmos deal to go through, it will become a weak
link in the democratic world.
ii) German Chancellor Scholz also over-ruled the opposition from 6 Ministers to approve the
Chinese state-owned company, COSCO Shipping, acquiring a 30 per cent share in Hamburg
Port.
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