German Minister urges universities to weigh China ties after spy case

Germany’s Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, has called on universities to scrutinise any joint projects with China in the light of recent arrests over spying allegations.

“The arrest of three Germans for suspected espionage once again makes it abundantly clear that we must not be naive in our dealings with China,” the liberal politician told German news magazine Wirtschaftswoche.

“We need to weigh up the risks and benefits of cooperation even more carefully, especially in science and in universities. This includes reviewing existing cooperative relationships.”

A week ago, a married couple and another man were arrested in the western German cities of Dusseldorf and Bad Homburg on suspicion of having procured information on military technology in order to pass it on to the Chinese secret service.

According to the federal prosecutor’s office, they were in negotiations about research projects that could be useful for expanding China’s naval combat power.

Stark-Watzinger said that support would only be given to projects “that have a clear added value for Germany and Europe”.

At the same time, she said that Berlin would “continue to support the expansion of independent China expertise”.