BERLIN: German ambassador to Beijing, Patricia Flor, said on Thursday that she had been summoned by Chinese authorities over the recent arrests of four Germans on suspicion of spying for China. “After four Germans were arrested this week for allegedly spying for Chinese secret services, I was summoned to the ministry of foreign affairs today,” Patricia Flor said on X, formerly Twitter.
The German ambassador described the summoning as “a quite telling move”. Three persons apprehended in western Germany earlier in the week are facing accusations of sharing classified information on maritime technology with Chinese intelligence services. Additionally, on Tuesday, an assistant to a German member of the European Parliament was detained over suspicions of revealing details of parliamentary proceedings to Beijing and spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany.
During her meeting at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Flor asserted Germany’s stance against espionage, emphasizing that Germany does not tolerate such activities, irrespective of the country from which they originate. “We do not tolerate espionage in Germany, regardless of which country it comes from,” Flor reaffirmed.
The arrests have raised concerns about the extent of Chinese espionage activities in Germany and have elicited a stern response from Beijing. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who recently visited Beijing and engaged in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, expressed deep concern over the spying allegations, pledging to investigate the matter thoroughly.
In response to the allegations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denounced them as an attempt to “smear and suppress China,” further exacerbating the diplomatic friction between the two nations.
