Diplomatic tensions
Beijing summons German ambassador after espionage allegations
The leadership in Beijing rejects the spying allegations from Germany as slander
© Hannes P. Albert / DPA
Was Germany spied on? Most likely. And the tracks point towards China. Beijing is angry about this and makes this clear once again.
Following the arrest of four suspects in Germany on charges of spying for China has summoned the German ambassador to Beijing. She was “summoned to the Foreign Ministry today,” German Ambassador Patricia Flor wrote on Thursday in the short message service “We do not tolerate espionage in Germany,” Flor continued.
The four German citizens were arrested at the beginning of the week. The case of Jian G., the employee of the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, Maximilian Krah, is particularly prominent. According to the Federal Prosecutor General, G. is accused of acting as an agent for a foreign secret service in a particularly serious case.
China criticizes espionage allegations as slander
A man and a couple were also arrested in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses one of the accused of having obtained information on innovative technologies that could be used militarily on behalf of China.
The leadership in Beijing reacted angrily to the arrests: the accusations served to “slander and oppress China,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Tuesday. It’s about “destroying the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe.” The employees working on the cases in Germany should “give up their Cold War mentality.”