Huawei ban + African raw materials + Medal hunt

Late Monday evening, reports circulated that the German Federal Ministry of the Interior is planning to exclude Huawei and ZTE from the German 5G network. While other countries have long since decided to take such a step, Berlin has been reviewing the matter for months. The security risks associated with Chinese participation in 5G now appear to be too great, all things considered. Michael Radunski analyzes how far-reaching the consequences of such a decision are – economically and politically. The only remaining solution for the procurement of reliable components now lies in Europe.

In the meantime, the race for African raw materials is in full swing. Europe completely missed the start and is now running behind the Chinese, as our second analysis notes. Now, one might get the idea of condemning Europe’s supply chain law, which will soon require EU companies to meet a higher level of human rights and environmental standards. After all, how are European players supposed to outcompete Chinese competitors when their standards are significantly lower, and thus their costs? The answer is: By doing the right thing out of conviction. We owe that to Africa and ultimately to ourselves in our consumer role.

While China has its eye on Africa for cobalt and nickel, last year’s Olympics focused solely on gold, silver and bronze. To that end, a lot of Chinese money went into coaches and know-how from long-established winter sports nations. Compared to the commodities in Africa, the medal hunt seems to have been less intentional in the long term. China only harbors international ambitions in a handful of winter disciplines one year after the Olympics, writes Christiane Kuehl.

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Marcel Grzanna