China says US has 'no right' to interfere in Hamburg port deal (updated)

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG

03/11/2022 08:43

(Adds quote and other background in paragraphs 3-5)
       BEIJING, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The U.S has "no right" to
interfere in Chinese cooperation with Germany, the foreign
ministry said Thursday, after Washington "strongly suggested"
that Beijing would not get a controlling stake in a contested
deal regarding Hamburg's port terminal. 
     U.S. interference is symptomatic of its practice of
coercive diplomacy, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao
Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing in Beijing.
        “Pragmatic cooperation between China and Germany is a
matter for the two sovereign countries, the United States should
not attack it without reason and has no right to meddle and
interfere," Zhao said Thursday, a day before German Chancellor
Olaf Scholz was due in Beijing for a one day visit where he is
expected to meet President Xi Jinping. 
  
        Chinese shipping giant Cosco made a bid last year to
take a 35% stake in one of logistics firm HHLA's HHFGn.DE three
terminals in Germany's largest port, but Germany's coalition has
been divided over whether to let the deal go ahead.  
  
        Germany may allow China's Cosco to take a smaller stake
than originally planned in a Hamburg port terminal, in what an
economy ministry source last week described as an "emergency
solution" to approve the deal but mitigate the impact. 
  
 (Reporting by Eduardo Baptista, Writing by Martin Quin Pollard)
 ((martin.pollard@thomsonreuters.com;))