Germany blocks Chinese state-owned firm from buying Volkswagen gas turbine unit over security
- It’s believed that CSIC Longjiang’s close ties to the Chinese military are the main reason why the German government rejected the deal
The German government blocked the sale of a gas turbine business owned by MAN Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen group, to a state-owned Chinese shipbuilding company over national security concerns.
Under the deal, which was announced on June 20, CSIC Longjiang GH Gas Turbine would have taken over MAN operations in Oberhausen and Zurich to work on developing new gas-turbine product lines. The company, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, develops small and medium-sized turbines, and makes engines for Chinese naval destroyers.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck confirmed the decision to stop the sale and cited Germany’s Foreign Trade and Payments Act. Under the terms of the legislation, the government can prevent companies from selling businesses to owners outside the European Union if that is deemed to pose a threat to national security and public order.
“The restriction that we have to put in place by law is that we protect technologies that can be a danger to public safety and order from information leaks or from the influence of countries that are not always on friendly terms with us,” Habeck said on Wednesday at a news conference in Berlin.
Germany has rules in place allowing the government to review or block foreign purchases of stakes as low as 10 per cent in “critical technology” as well as “critical infrastructure” companies.
The ministry added that it could not provide further details given security concerns as well as the company’s operational secrets.
