China
Exclusive: Cosco Compromise + Xi's Politburo
Dear reader,
Li Qiang is China's second-in-command – the initiator of the Shanghai lockdown qualified for himself for higher office in Xi Jinping's eyes through brutality and consistent repression of the population. That pretty much says it all about the new Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. They are the seven men who steer the destiny of 1.4 billion people. But actually, only one man is steering here. The other six members are the most loyal followers of Xi found in the party leadership, analyzes Christiane Kuehl. China is completing the transition from complex one-party rule to the dictatorship of one ruler.
While the big Party Congress ends in Beijing, Germany discusses the Port of Hamburg. China.Table learned exclusively from negotiating circles that Cosco could settle for a 24.9 percent share instead of the originally planned 35 percent. This would potentially defuse the dispute, because, at this magic number, the Chinese side would no longer have a blocking minority and thus hardly any influence on the port's business. The state-owned shipping company wants to acquire a stake in one of the terminals in the Port of Hamburg – a plan that is being met with considerable resistance from the Greens and the liberal FDP party. Chancellor Olaf Scholz could save both the port's status and the coalition's peace in this way, analyzes Frank Sieren. That would indeed be a considerable milestone.
However, this is still a long way from resolving the issue of how to deal with China; the tension between dependence and threat cannot be resolved. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed in Brussels that he would fly to China with a business delegation. Directly after the party congress, Germany now comes across as an economic supplicant, that is the concern of European partners, but also in parts of the German business community. The chancellor carries the Dax-CEOs in his baggage, whose companies are particularly dependent. Xi, for his part, will receive Scholz at the height of his power.
