Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs vetoed China COSCO Shipping Group’s planned purchase of an 80 percent stake in the Zippel Group, a Hamburg-based sea-land intermodal transport company linking North Sea ports with eastern Germany, DW reported Wednesday. The ministry said selling Zippel to the world’s fourth-largest shipping company would deepen Germany’s and the EU’s dependence on China and negatively affect supply-chain stability.
Military logistics factored into the decision: in the event of a conflict, transport routes to Germany’s eastern border would be critical for NATO operations and Bundeswehr logistics, and the government had signaled “major security concerns” about the deal in late September, per Handelsblatt. Zippel chief executive Axel Plass said he understood the decision but stood by the business logic of the deal, and said daily operations continue as normal. COSCO did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The block follows the pattern of the 2023 Tollerort terminal case, where Berlin approved only a reduced COSCO stake in Hamburg’s port under restrictions, and it adds fresh friction to the EU-China trade talks running in Beijing this week.