New Delhi: German authorities have arrested four nationals, including a political aide of a far-right member of the European Parliament, for allegedly spying for China. Beijing Thursday summoned the German ambassador to China, Patricia Flor, following the arrests.
In a sharply worded statement on X, Flor said: “After four Germans were arrested this week for allegedly spying for Chinese secret services, I was summoned to the MFA today.”
She called the summon “a telling move”, while underlining three key positions: “1) We do not tolerate espionage in Germany, regardless of which country it comes from, 2) We protect our democracy and our constitutional state by constitutional means and, 3) The Federal Public Prosecutor General conducts the investigations. In the end, an independent court will decide on the accusations,” she said.
After four Germans were arrested this week for allegedly spying for Chinese secret services, I was summoned to the MFA today. A quite telling move – but, after all, a good opportunity to explain a few things:
1) We do not tolerate espionage in Germany, regardless of (1/2)— Ambassador Patricia Flor (@GerAmbChina) April 25, 2024
China has denied claims that these individuals were spying on its behalf.
The arrests come amid growing friction between Berlin and Beijing, especially after the former unveiled its “China strategy” last November, and has expressed the desire to expand close relations with Taiwan, an independent self-governing territory that China claims as its own.
Ahead of the European Union (EU) elections slated for June, German authorities Monday arrested three nationals for alleged espionage. A day later, Jian G, an aide to Maximilian Krah, the lead candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the upcoming election, was arrested.
“Jian G. is an employee of a Chinese secret service (MSS) (sic),” said a statement from the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office Tuesday.
German prosecutors allege that in January this year, the accused “repeatedly” passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence client. In addition, he spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.
Krah termed it a “serious accusation”.
I learned about the arrest of the member of my staff, Jian Guo, from the press this morning. I don't have any additional information. Spying for a foreign state is a serious accusation. If the allegations prove true, it will result in the immediate termination of Mr. Guo's…
— Dr. Maximilian Krah MdEP (@KrahMax) April 23, 2024
The three German nationals arrested earlier include Herwig F., Ina F. and Thomas R.
The first two – a married couple who operate a company in Dusseldorf – are believed to have acted as intermediaries for Thomas R. who allegedly passed critical information on innovative technologies to China that could be used for military purposes. They were allegedly involved in research projects that could have helped China’s maritime combat power, German prosecutors said.
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Tensions between Germany and China
Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travelled to China for the second time, amid trade tensions with Beijing and concerns about China’s growing closeness with Russia which is fighting a war with Ukraine.
Scholz held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping where he pressed him on the Ukraine issue.
“Scholz stressed that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine was having very considerable negative effects on security in Europe and was questioning the principle of the inviolability of national boundaries,” according to a statement from the German government.
This trip came months after Berlin unveiled its “China strategy” which seeks to reduce German dependence on Chinese goods. The strategy, released last June, also criticised Beijing for deliberately trying to create economic and technological dependencies for political gain and attempting to change the rules-based international order.
It further stated that Berlin is keen to expand ties with Taiwan and warned that changing the “status quo” of the Taiwan Strait by force would also affect German and European interests.
Not just Germany, but the UK also announced action against people suspected of working as Chinese spies this week. The country charged two British nationals with having breached the Official Secrets Act.
According to a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service Monday, Christopher Berry (32) and Christopher Cash (29) were charged with providing prejudicial information to China. Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the two men.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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