According to the Financial Times, Belgian security authorities have targeted the European logistics hub of the Chinese online retailer Alibaba. The suspicion: possible espionage.
According to a media report, the Belgian secret service has monitored the most important European logistics hub of the Chinese company Alibaba for possible espionage. As the “Financial Times” reports, this is about Alibaba’s logistics center at Liège cargo airport – the fifth largest in Europe.
The intelligence agency confirmed it was working to uncover “possible espionage or interference activities” by Chinese companies such as Alibaba, the newspaper said.
The only European logistics center of Alibaba’s logistics subsidiary Cainiao is located in Liège. It mainly distributes goods that are sold directly to European consumers via the online shopping website AliExpress.
Suspicious software
According to information from the “FT”, the Belgian security authorities assume that Cainiao’s software poses a possible espionage risk. It is intended to improve logistics processes and is part of Alibaba’s “electronic world trade platform” (EWTP).
Apparently Cainiao is able to access data about retailers, products, transport details and flows, a person familiar with the company’s IT systems told the British newspaper. Chinese companies are legally obliged to pass on their data to China’s authorities and security services.
“De-risking” vis-à-vis China
Alibaba denies any wrongdoing. The Chinese Amazon competitor signed an agreement with the Belgian government in 2018 to open an e-commerce trading center for the Cainiao logistics division.
The Belgian government hoped that Alibaba’s investment of millions in the region would stimulate the economy of the region around the Liège cargo airport. But in Europe, Chinese investments are increasingly viewed critically. According to the wishes of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, strategic dependencies should be reduced across Europe.
Reservations before construction
Law to review foreign investments in critical infrastructure also came into force in Belgium. According to the Financial Times, there were concerns about the logistics center because of possible espionage even before the center was built, including in the Belgian parliament.
The country’s justice minister, Vincent Van Quickenborne, now told the newspaper that the negotiations with Alibaba at the time dated back to an earlier century. The “times of naivety” have changed.