By acquiring German citizenship, the arrested Jian G. provided himself with a solid cover. From the outside, a decision to accept the German and thus reject Chinese citizenship appears to be a genuine concession. However, the evidence of the past few days suggests the opposite: G. apparently exploited his German passport to provide the People’s Republic with insider information from the European Parliament for years and to spy on Chinese opposition members in Germany without arousing too much suspicion.
It is difficult to assess just how much damage has been done to Europe or the Chinese opposition in Germany. At the very least, however, the espionage case is causing growing suspicion in Germany. Will Chinese citizens or citizens of Chinese descent be considered a security risk in the future wherever relevant information on technology, business, politics or the military is circulated? And if so, how do we deal with this?
It is an uncomfortable question because it contradicts the zeitgeist in Germany. On the one hand, there is the risk of going too far by being overzealous. This quickly leads to a minefield of discrimination and racism. These are two disintegrating centrifugal forces in a society and counterproductive for the country’s development. On the other hand, the justified concern about Chinese espionage must also be addressed. Germany will inevitably have to deal with this conflict even more intensively from now on.
“The consequences of the Jian G. case are difficult to predict. But the big questions in the future will be whether and how we want to cooperate with Chinese partners,” Matthias Jaroch, spokesperson for the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV), told Table.Briefings. “Each university must assess this autonomously, also in order to preserve academic freedom. But this requires overarching standards in consultation with policymakers to guide these assessments.”
The DHV calls for “qualified, cross-institutional information and counseling services so that viable decisions can be made as to with whom and in which areas exchange and cooperation are justifiable while maintaining academic autonomy.” After all, cooperation with China must continue even after the espionage case. “This is in Germany’s own best interests. The People’s Republic is self-confident, strives for hegemony and is consistently controlled by the Communist Party,” says Jaroch. But China is very powerful in many areas, both in the economy and in science.
Politicians, on the other hand, also see universities as having an obligation. Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger once again urged universities to review their cooperation with China. An even more critical assessment of the risks and benefits of cooperation, especially in science and universities, is necessary. She told the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche that there would only be support for projects “that have a clear added value for Germany and Europe.”
Academic freedom has constitutional status in Germany, but this also entails a responsibility on the part of universities and research institutions, said Stark-Watzinger. However, she announced plans to further strengthen information and sensitization of universities and research institutions in cooperation with the relevant authorities.
China gives its citizens no choice whether or not they want to cooperate with the intelligence agencies. Upstanding Chinese scientists, students or entrepreneurs must fear consequences if they refuse to cooperate. Intelligence agencies can also force German citizens with Chinese roots to cooperate. One of the favorite tactics of Chinese security authorities is to threaten relatives still living in the People’s Republic. Chinese dissidents abroad are also silenced with a combination of financial benefits and threats against their families.
This crystallizes a difficult task for Germany. Namely, to set guidelines within the framework of cooperation and exchange agreements that, on the one hand, enable cooperation while warding off appropriation, unwanted dependencies, and, ultimately, espionage on the other. But this is by no means just a formal act. Instead, Germany and other liberal-democratic states face a painful balancing act between averting danger and a non-discriminatory integration policy.
Conversely, China would probably never think of integrating naturalized foreigners into its own political system. The suspicion that Beijing is sowing against foreigners is increasing constantly. According to Chinese propaganda, every Western face is now seen as a potential source of betrayal. Even schools teach how to recognize a Western spy.
In liberal democracies, we have established the principle that no one should be discriminated against because of the color of their skin or origin. Now, we are in a dilemma, says Ralph Weber from the University of Basel, who researches the influence of the Chinese state through the United Front of the Communist Party (UFW) or the Ministry of State Security.
This is why Weber believes that it is wise to seek a middle way – ‘a balancing act between precautionary measures and ideological conviction’, as he says. Just what this middle way might look like is up for debate. To avoid exposing Chinese scientists to the risk of having to pass on sensitive information, it would be necessary to categorize information. According to Weber, what must be avoided is “heading into disaster out of ideological conviction.”
The suspected espionage case involving AfD employee Jian G. has revealed a conflicting situation among Chinese expatriates in Germany. Democracy activists of Chinese origin have realized with anger and shock that they had apparently been infiltrated. Yet many of them continue to sympathize with the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a political party of law and order that supposedly wants to keep lazy immigrants out.
Almost 150,000 Chinese citizens live in Germany. Many of them get their news from the Chinese media and, therefore, only learned about the espionage case late or not at all. Jian G. had been mingling with activists in Germany for years and even attended public protests in front of the embassy, a Chinese activist living in Germany told Table.Briefings. She wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons. She first met Jian G. more than ten years ago.
He appeared inconspicuous, but stood out for his willingness to help. She was suspicious of his particularly strong commitment to the interests of dissidents. However, most people trusted him, “including very well-known democracy activists,” she recalls. “I fear there might be more spies like him among the activist groups of overseas Chinese.”
It was only in February 2021 that Jian G., born in 1981 in Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province, was introduced as a “young veteran of the pro-democracy movement” at an event organized by the China Republican Forum, an association of opposition activists in exile. At the time, he had long been a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and an employee of Maximilian Krah.
Were his fellow campaigners not surprised that he works for a potentially xenophobic party? “Many Chinese democrats live in a parallel world,” says the activist. “They don’t seem to care what happens in German politics and what kind of party the AfD is.”
One German with Chinese roots and family in China, who also does not want to be named, points out another fact. “Many Chinese in Germany believe that the AfD has nothing against migrants or people with a migration background as long as they know how to behave in Germany and work hard to earn a living. The fact that someone like Jian G. worked for an AfD politician didn’t really irritate them.”
Numerous posts on social media platforms, such as the app Xiaohongshu, popular among expatriate Chinese, cast a rather positive light on the AfD. For example, they claim that the party would expel “dangerous migrants” and work to lower taxes.
“The opinion on the AfD among Chinese expatriates is on a spectrum,” says Chinese journalist Sun Qian, who has lived and worked in Berlin since 2014. “There are those who are not interested in German politics or are against the AfD. But many also support the AfD. They consider themselves the better migrants and are also quite Islamophobic.” Some now suspect a political agenda behind the espionage reports. “They say it can’t be a coincidence that they were uncovered so suddenly after Scholz’s trip to China and before the European elections.”
Whether they support or oppose the AfD or are simply apolitical, the espionage case surrounding Jian G. has left many Chinese in Germany feeling uneasy. “For Chinese business people who are involved in international trade, Chinese people who work for NGOs, but also for journalists like me, working in Germany could now become more difficult,” says Sun Qian. “Not necessarily because we are afraid of falling under suspicion ourselves, but because the Germans are more careful around us.”
Many believe that the case of Jian G. will have a lasting impact on the political mood in Germany. One blogger on the WeChat channel “Real German 德国派”, which focuses on Germany, writes that the spy Jian G. could “go down in history” – as a “useful idiot” who contributed to the AfD “experiencing its Waterloo.”
Elon Musk’s visit to China on Sunday and Monday paid off. According to reports, Tesla has cleared several important hurdles, paving the way for its FSD (Full Self-Driving) system and, ultimately, self-driving cars in the world’s largest car market. Tesla will partner with Chinese technology giant Baidu for mapping and navigation functions, Bloomberg and other media reported in unison on Monday.
Tesla has been using Baidu maps for navigation apps in its cars since 2020. Now this collaboration is being extended to include driver assistance functions. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Chinese officials have also informed Tesla that Beijing has given preliminary approval for the company’s plan to introduce its FSD function in China.
Musk made a surprise trip to China on Sunday and was received in Beijing by Premier Li Qiang. Musk knows Li from the latter’s time as party leader of Shanghai, where he rolled out the red carpet for Tesla. Tesla received preferential loans and unprecedentedly fast official approval for the construction of its Shanghai plant. Today, it produces more than half of Tesla’s globally shipped cars and secured the American company’s EV market leadership in China for several years.
However, the US company has been under pressure in its second most important market for some time now. BYD has overtaken Tesla as the EV market leader. Numerous other Chinese brands also fight for market share, which has led to a veritable price war, leaving other companies such as Volkswagen under pressure.
The Chinese leadership has welcomed Tesla from the very beginning and continues to support its presence in the Chinese market, as the meeting with Premier Li shows. Tesla’s presence has helped establish electromobility through fierce competition and made it affordable. Now, Musk is apparently set to provide an equally strong impetus for making autonomous driving marketable – much earlier than in Europe.
The strength of Chinese competitors is already reflected in the numbers. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla’s market share in China fell to around 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to 10.5 percent in the first quarter of the previous year. The performance in the first quarter of 2024 is also mixed. Tesla sold around 386,800 vehicles worldwide, around 90,000 fewer than investors had expected. Tesla subsequently announced to downsize its workforce by at least ten percent.
One of Tesla’s problems in China is that the company offers too few new models for Chinese customer tastes. Chinese manufacturers are quicker to revise their vehicles and bring new versions onto the market.
On the other hand, Musk is apparently concerned that the Chinese have started to gain customers with their own smart driving assistants. The systems of some Chinese manufacturers recently already had more features than the comparatively rudimentary assistance functions that Tesla currently offers in its Chinese vehicles.
On Monday, Chinese competitor Xpeng, in which Volkswagen also has a stake, reacted promptly to the news of the imminent launch of self-driving Teslas in China. Tesla has “a very good self-driving technology and brand,” Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng posted on Weibo and LinkedIn. “Only when more good products and technologies come to the market can the whole market and customers have a better experience, and the market can develop healthier and faster,” the Chinese car boss wrote.
He also gave an outlook on the next big trend in China’s car market. While the focus in the past ten years has been on the development of electric cars, the coming decade will belong to intelligent cars, he wrote. Musk is apparently also banking on this.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported in detail on Sunday’s meeting between Li and Musk. Li emphasized that Tesla’s positive development in China was “a successful example of economic and trade cooperation between China and the US.” Musk, in turn, promised to continue investing in China.
Washington would certainly prefer Tesla to reduce its risk in China. But Musk’s travel plans clearly show where the Tesla CEO’s priorities lie these days. While he included the China trip in his itinerary at short notice, he postponed a trip to India. He was supposed to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and present his plans for the Indian market. This certainly won’t help the upcoming construction of an Indian gigafactory.
The last daylight falls over the cloudy skies above the huge development project on the west side of Jiaozhou Bay in the coastal city of Qingdao. The West Coast New Area covers 2,096 square kilometers of land and around 5,000 square kilometers of sea, making it one of the three largest urban centers in the administrative region. Its development was approved by the State Council ten years ago and focuses on the maritime industry, among other things. However, numerous high-tech, energy, and entertainment companies have also settled there.
By acquiring German citizenship, the arrested Jian G. provided himself with a solid cover. From the outside, a decision to accept the German and thus reject Chinese citizenship appears to be a genuine concession. However, the evidence of the past few days suggests the opposite: G. apparently exploited his German passport to provide the People’s Republic with insider information from the European Parliament for years and to spy on Chinese opposition members in Germany without arousing too much suspicion.
It is difficult to assess just how much damage has been done to Europe or the Chinese opposition in Germany. At the very least, however, the espionage case is causing growing suspicion in Germany. Will Chinese citizens or citizens of Chinese descent be considered a security risk in the future wherever relevant information on technology, business, politics or the military is circulated? And if so, how do we deal with this?
It is an uncomfortable question because it contradicts the zeitgeist in Germany. On the one hand, there is the risk of going too far by being overzealous. This quickly leads to a minefield of discrimination and racism. These are two disintegrating centrifugal forces in a society and counterproductive for the country’s development. On the other hand, the justified concern about Chinese espionage must also be addressed. Germany will inevitably have to deal with this conflict even more intensively from now on.
“The consequences of the Jian G. case are difficult to predict. But the big questions in the future will be whether and how we want to cooperate with Chinese partners,” Matthias Jaroch, spokesperson for the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV), told Table.Briefings. “Each university must assess this autonomously, also in order to preserve academic freedom. But this requires overarching standards in consultation with policymakers to guide these assessments.”
The DHV calls for “qualified, cross-institutional information and counseling services so that viable decisions can be made as to with whom and in which areas exchange and cooperation are justifiable while maintaining academic autonomy.” After all, cooperation with China must continue even after the espionage case. “This is in Germany’s own best interests. The People’s Republic is self-confident, strives for hegemony and is consistently controlled by the Communist Party,” says Jaroch. But China is very powerful in many areas, both in the economy and in science.
Politicians, on the other hand, also see universities as having an obligation. Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger once again urged universities to review their cooperation with China. An even more critical assessment of the risks and benefits of cooperation, especially in science and universities, is necessary. She told the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche that there would only be support for projects “that have a clear added value for Germany and Europe.”
Academic freedom has constitutional status in Germany, but this also entails a responsibility on the part of universities and research institutions, said Stark-Watzinger. However, she announced plans to further strengthen information and sensitization of universities and research institutions in cooperation with the relevant authorities.
China gives its citizens no choice whether or not they want to cooperate with the intelligence agencies. Upstanding Chinese scientists, students or entrepreneurs must fear consequences if they refuse to cooperate. Intelligence agencies can also force German citizens with Chinese roots to cooperate. One of the favorite tactics of Chinese security authorities is to threaten relatives still living in the People’s Republic. Chinese dissidents abroad are also silenced with a combination of financial benefits and threats against their families.
This crystallizes a difficult task for Germany. Namely, to set guidelines within the framework of cooperation and exchange agreements that, on the one hand, enable cooperation while warding off appropriation, unwanted dependencies, and, ultimately, espionage on the other. But this is by no means just a formal act. Instead, Germany and other liberal-democratic states face a painful balancing act between averting danger and a non-discriminatory integration policy.
Conversely, China would probably never think of integrating naturalized foreigners into its own political system. The suspicion that Beijing is sowing against foreigners is increasing constantly. According to Chinese propaganda, every Western face is now seen as a potential source of betrayal. Even schools teach how to recognize a Western spy.
In liberal democracies, we have established the principle that no one should be discriminated against because of the color of their skin or origin. Now, we are in a dilemma, says Ralph Weber from the University of Basel, who researches the influence of the Chinese state through the United Front of the Communist Party (UFW) or the Ministry of State Security.
This is why Weber believes that it is wise to seek a middle way – ‘a balancing act between precautionary measures and ideological conviction’, as he says. Just what this middle way might look like is up for debate. To avoid exposing Chinese scientists to the risk of having to pass on sensitive information, it would be necessary to categorize information. According to Weber, what must be avoided is “heading into disaster out of ideological conviction.”
The suspected espionage case involving AfD employee Jian G. has revealed a conflicting situation among Chinese expatriates in Germany. Democracy activists of Chinese origin have realized with anger and shock that they had apparently been infiltrated. Yet many of them continue to sympathize with the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a political party of law and order that supposedly wants to keep lazy immigrants out.
Almost 150,000 Chinese citizens live in Germany. Many of them get their news from the Chinese media and, therefore, only learned about the espionage case late or not at all. Jian G. had been mingling with activists in Germany for years and even attended public protests in front of the embassy, a Chinese activist living in Germany told Table.Briefings. She wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons. She first met Jian G. more than ten years ago.
He appeared inconspicuous, but stood out for his willingness to help. She was suspicious of his particularly strong commitment to the interests of dissidents. However, most people trusted him, “including very well-known democracy activists,” she recalls. “I fear there might be more spies like him among the activist groups of overseas Chinese.”
It was only in February 2021 that Jian G., born in 1981 in Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province, was introduced as a “young veteran of the pro-democracy movement” at an event organized by the China Republican Forum, an association of opposition activists in exile. At the time, he had long been a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and an employee of Maximilian Krah.
Were his fellow campaigners not surprised that he works for a potentially xenophobic party? “Many Chinese democrats live in a parallel world,” says the activist. “They don’t seem to care what happens in German politics and what kind of party the AfD is.”
One German with Chinese roots and family in China, who also does not want to be named, points out another fact. “Many Chinese in Germany believe that the AfD has nothing against migrants or people with a migration background as long as they know how to behave in Germany and work hard to earn a living. The fact that someone like Jian G. worked for an AfD politician didn’t really irritate them.”
Numerous posts on social media platforms, such as the app Xiaohongshu, popular among expatriate Chinese, cast a rather positive light on the AfD. For example, they claim that the party would expel “dangerous migrants” and work to lower taxes.
“The opinion on the AfD among Chinese expatriates is on a spectrum,” says Chinese journalist Sun Qian, who has lived and worked in Berlin since 2014. “There are those who are not interested in German politics or are against the AfD. But many also support the AfD. They consider themselves the better migrants and are also quite Islamophobic.” Some now suspect a political agenda behind the espionage reports. “They say it can’t be a coincidence that they were uncovered so suddenly after Scholz’s trip to China and before the European elections.”
Whether they support or oppose the AfD or are simply apolitical, the espionage case surrounding Jian G. has left many Chinese in Germany feeling uneasy. “For Chinese business people who are involved in international trade, Chinese people who work for NGOs, but also for journalists like me, working in Germany could now become more difficult,” says Sun Qian. “Not necessarily because we are afraid of falling under suspicion ourselves, but because the Germans are more careful around us.”
Many believe that the case of Jian G. will have a lasting impact on the political mood in Germany. One blogger on the WeChat channel “Real German 德国派”, which focuses on Germany, writes that the spy Jian G. could “go down in history” – as a “useful idiot” who contributed to the AfD “experiencing its Waterloo.”
Elon Musk’s visit to China on Sunday and Monday paid off. According to reports, Tesla has cleared several important hurdles, paving the way for its FSD (Full Self-Driving) system and, ultimately, self-driving cars in the world’s largest car market. Tesla will partner with Chinese technology giant Baidu for mapping and navigation functions, Bloomberg and other media reported in unison on Monday.
Tesla has been using Baidu maps for navigation apps in its cars since 2020. Now this collaboration is being extended to include driver assistance functions. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Chinese officials have also informed Tesla that Beijing has given preliminary approval for the company’s plan to introduce its FSD function in China.
Musk made a surprise trip to China on Sunday and was received in Beijing by Premier Li Qiang. Musk knows Li from the latter’s time as party leader of Shanghai, where he rolled out the red carpet for Tesla. Tesla received preferential loans and unprecedentedly fast official approval for the construction of its Shanghai plant. Today, it produces more than half of Tesla’s globally shipped cars and secured the American company’s EV market leadership in China for several years.
However, the US company has been under pressure in its second most important market for some time now. BYD has overtaken Tesla as the EV market leader. Numerous other Chinese brands also fight for market share, which has led to a veritable price war, leaving other companies such as Volkswagen under pressure.
The Chinese leadership has welcomed Tesla from the very beginning and continues to support its presence in the Chinese market, as the meeting with Premier Li shows. Tesla’s presence has helped establish electromobility through fierce competition and made it affordable. Now, Musk is apparently set to provide an equally strong impetus for making autonomous driving marketable – much earlier than in Europe.
The strength of Chinese competitors is already reflected in the numbers. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla’s market share in China fell to around 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to 10.5 percent in the first quarter of the previous year. The performance in the first quarter of 2024 is also mixed. Tesla sold around 386,800 vehicles worldwide, around 90,000 fewer than investors had expected. Tesla subsequently announced to downsize its workforce by at least ten percent.
One of Tesla’s problems in China is that the company offers too few new models for Chinese customer tastes. Chinese manufacturers are quicker to revise their vehicles and bring new versions onto the market.
On the other hand, Musk is apparently concerned that the Chinese have started to gain customers with their own smart driving assistants. The systems of some Chinese manufacturers recently already had more features than the comparatively rudimentary assistance functions that Tesla currently offers in its Chinese vehicles.
On Monday, Chinese competitor Xpeng, in which Volkswagen also has a stake, reacted promptly to the news of the imminent launch of self-driving Teslas in China. Tesla has “a very good self-driving technology and brand,” Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng posted on Weibo and LinkedIn. “Only when more good products and technologies come to the market can the whole market and customers have a better experience, and the market can develop healthier and faster,” the Chinese car boss wrote.
He also gave an outlook on the next big trend in China’s car market. While the focus in the past ten years has been on the development of electric cars, the coming decade will belong to intelligent cars, he wrote. Musk is apparently also banking on this.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported in detail on Sunday’s meeting between Li and Musk. Li emphasized that Tesla’s positive development in China was “a successful example of economic and trade cooperation between China and the US.” Musk, in turn, promised to continue investing in China.
Washington would certainly prefer Tesla to reduce its risk in China. But Musk’s travel plans clearly show where the Tesla CEO’s priorities lie these days. While he included the China trip in his itinerary at short notice, he postponed a trip to India. He was supposed to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and present his plans for the Indian market. This certainly won’t help the upcoming construction of an Indian gigafactory.
The last daylight falls over the cloudy skies above the huge development project on the west side of Jiaozhou Bay in the coastal city of Qingdao. The West Coast New Area covers 2,096 square kilometers of land and around 5,000 square kilometers of sea, making it one of the three largest urban centers in the administrative region. Its development was approved by the State Council ten years ago and focuses on the maritime industry, among other things. However, numerous high-tech, energy, and entertainment companies have also settled there.
