Exclusive | Germany’s ‘China City’ Duisburg cuts ties with Huawei, citing Beijing’s relations with Russia
- Smart cities collaboration is now on hold pending federal government’s new China policy, spokesman for mayor’s office says
- It marks a dramatic policy shift for the post-industrial hub of 500,000 that had pitched itself as China’s ‘gateway to Europe’
A memorandum signed in 2018 would see Huawei transform Duisburg “from a traditional industrial city into a service-oriented smart city”, modernising its public administration, port logistics, education and traffic infrastructure, using advanced 5G technology.
But this agreement expired last month and has since been scrubbed from the city’s website. City officials told the South China Morning Post that it would not be immediately renewed in light of “the current relations between Russia and China”.
All cooperation with Huawei is now on hold, said Falco Firlus, a spokesman for mayor Sören Link’s office, pending the federal government’s new China policy, which is due next year and set to recommend a sterner approach to dealing with Chinese entities.
“The federal government/EU is currently waiting to see whether an exchange with Huawei can be maintained – also against the background of the current relations between Russia and China,” Firlus said in an email.
“During the coronavirus pandemic and until now, the cooperation with Huawei has come to a standstill. As soon as we have an assessment from the federal government, we will therefore reassess further cooperation with Huawei, taking all aspects into account,” he added.
