Germany accuses China of economic espionage, disinformation campaign
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, July 13: In a first ever official condemnation, Germany has accused China of carrying out systematic economic espionage to snoop on the German corporate and trade secrets. Germany has also accused China in its first ever strategic paper on the Communist country of carrying out disinformation campaign, while also exploiting officials’ positions globally for espionage activities.
“Chinese cyber actors are engaged in economic and academic espionage in an attempt to gain access to German corporations’ trade and research secrets. These activities are particularly focused on high-tech companies and global leaders in industrial technology,” stated the strategy paper of Germany on China. The paper underlined that as part of its economic security initiative, the government advises German companies and research institutions on cyber, hybrid and physical security risks.
The strategy paper accorded key focus to the espionage activities, while admitting that the economic rivalry between the two nations is now a reality as Beijing seeks to reduce dependence on other countries. The strategy paper has also admitted adverse terms of trade against the German companies operating in China after the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The number of Chinese disinformation campaigns is increasing all around the world, e.g. in connection with China’s policy on Hong Kong and Taiwan. Moreover, Chinese propaganda is amplifying Russia’s narratives regarding its illegal war of aggression against
Ukraine,” noted the strategy paper, while adding that “this requires systematic, evidence-based monitoring and countermeasures on all levels, including at European level”.
Grimly noting the extent of the disinformation campaign commissioned by China, the strategy paper stated “our democracy can also be harmed by the covert promotion of interests at the behest of Chinese authorities”. “The Act Introducing a Lobby Register for the Representation of Interests to the German Bundestag and the Federal Government is intended to create more transparency regarding lobbying efforts commissioned by foreign entities,” added the paper.
Further, the German strategy paper stated that the internet-based services, apps and social media from China that are based on cross-border data transfer may pose a risk to public order and security, among other things due to data leaks and possible access by Chinese state authorities. “The Federal Government therefore takes a restrictive approach to the use of such services and apps on official devices. In cooperation with the Länder and at EU level, we strive to more stringently monitor and implement compliance with European standards, especially the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation,” added the strategy paper.
As a way out the paper stated that the certification is a suitable and confidence building instrument that serves as proof of security functionality. “We are building on internationally recognised certification regimes, e.g. the common criteria for assessing the security of information technology. The Federal Government rejects the use of Chinese specially designed certification regimes, as they include inappropriate requirements and their certification methods lack transparency,” added the paper.
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