the port of Hamburg at the heart of the critics

Containers are stacked along the endless quays of the Elbe. The blues are those of the Chinese shipowner Cosco, and are landed in Hamburg after about thirty days at sea. “More than 30% of the containers of the port of Hamburg transit through China”, notes Jan Ninneman, professor of logistics in Hamburg. According to him, “China is trying to increase its presence in Europe and therefore to control certain entry points, such as ports, to access the market”.

A widely expressed fear, especially since Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, gave the green light to the partial sale to Cosco of one of the four terminals of the port of Hamburg, the third European port. And this, a few days before his controversial 12-hour visit to China on Friday November 4, the first by an EU and G7 leader since the Covid crisis and amid growing Western mistrust of the regime. Chinese authoritarian. The Chancellor is criticized for lacking firmness in the face of China, Germany’s largest trading partner, and for going it alone. Olaf Scholz has indicated that he wishes “develop further” economic cooperation with China, despite “from different points of view”.

With a 24.9% stake, Cosco will have no influence over port decisions. But that should not prevent us from questioning trade with China, says Daniel Hosseus, director of the Association of Port Companies.

“With the invasion of Ukraine, there was a change of era and we see things differently, especially the question of economic dependence.”

Daniel Hosseus, Director of the Association of Port Companies

at franceinfo

“As Europeans, we have to think about our future relations with China,” insists Daniel Hosseus. “When you talk to China about reciprocity, open markets, intellectual property, etc. These are topics best discussed at 27 to weighnoted for his part on franceinfo Friday, Sébastien Maillard, director of the Jacques Delors Institute. Our best leverage against such power is to go there as Europeans. In 2019, Emmanuel Macron made a trip to Beijing with a German government minister and a European commissioner on his plane.

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Critics of the Chinese presence in Hamburg which annoy, on the other hand, Axel Mattern, the powerful marketing boss of the port. “If we no longer want medicines in pharmacies or T-Shirts, or if we want supermarket shelves to be empty, then we can say to ourselves that we no longer want China. But first we have to wondering how we can replace all this production”, he points. Cosco’s stake in the terminal could grow in the coming years as the port seeks to expand its partnerships.