German coalition reaches deal on China investment in Hamburg port

The German government has reached a compromise in the dispute over Chinese investment in a container terminal in the port of Hamburg, according to the Economy Ministry.

Chinese firm Cosco last year made a bid to take a 35% stake in the terminal. According to the deal, Cosco's stake will be limited to 24.9%.

The ministry said the so-called partial prohibition prevents any further acquisition above the 25% threshold as well as barring strategic participation in the running of the terminal, making Cosco's participation purely financial.

Several ministries expressed concern over the planned acquisition last week because it involves critical infrastructure.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck had wanted to prevent the acquisition altogether, arguing that it was unwise to make Germany more dependent on China at a time when it was weaning itself off energy imports from Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier echoed Habeck's warning on Wednesday, saying that Germany had to "learn lessons" from the stand-off with Russia.

"Learning lessons means we have to reduce unilateral dependencies wherever possible, and that applies to China in particular," Steinmeier told public broadcaster ARD.

"It is very important that we talk much more intensively with China's neighbours" with the aim of having more balanced trade relations in the region, Steinmeier added.

Cosco already holds stakes in eight port terminals across Europe. Proponents of the deal had argued that Cosco could shift its business to larger rival ports including Rotterdam or Antwerp if the deal failed.

China, the world's largest exporter, is by far the most important trading partner of Germany's largest port, accounting for about one third of the containers handled.

Cosco operates the world's fourth largest container shipping company. Its ships have been calling at the Tollerort terminal in Hamburg for more than 40 years.