The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) wants to restrict the involvement of Chinese companies in Germany's seaports and digital infrastructure.
After a debate among delegates at the national party conference in Riesa, a town in the east of England, the AfD accepted the demands to be in the party's election manifesto.
“In general, seaports are part of the critical infrastructure and therefore must remain under German control,” said a motion approved by the delegates.
Another approved motion said: “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 that Chinese companies should not be criticized in general. In addition, they said that it would be difficult for Germany's mobile network to operate without technology from China.
Last year, the German government agreed to begin excluding components made by Chinese telecoms from the country's 5G networks.
Ports have also been a touchy subject. The Chinese state-owned company COSCO has a 24.99% stake in a container terminal in the port of Hamburg. COSCO initially wanted to take over 35% of the CTT operating company.
However, several German ministries protested here, so in 2023 the government set the threshold at less than 25% to prevent COSCO from blocking a minority, which would allow the Chinese to have more influence to have
The leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a parliamentary group in Thuringia Bjoern Hoecke speaking at his party's national convention. Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
