The spokesperson for the German foreign ministry told Reuters that Beijing had called the German ambassador to China on Thursday in response to multiple arrests made in Germany on suspicion of being Chinese spies.
The Chinese ambassador to Berlin was called earlier this week, the spokeswoman continued, to receive a briefing on the government’s “clear position on the ongoing investigations into suspected Chinese espionage activities”.
An aide to a far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) member of the European Parliament was detained on Tuesday on suspicion of spying on the Chinese opposition and providing Chinese intelligence with information about talks in the EU assembly.
A broad concerns about Europe being a target for Chinese espionage activities were stoked earlier this week when German authorities detained three persons in a different case over transferring sensitive technology to China for military use.
