Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that, the German government banned the sale of Volkswagen’s gas turbine business to Chinese companies, citing national security concerns. The deal failed due to the German cabinet approved the ban proposed by the Economics Ministry. The reason is that the potential buyer’s parent company, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (Group), has too close ties with China’s military. Therefore, sales are not allowed under the Foreign Trade Act, which allows the government to ban sales to non-EU countries if it could endanger national security. Volkswagen’s MAN Energy Solutions said it would not seek a new buyer but would stop developing new gas turbines and limit its services to only maintenance.
According to anonymous Chinese sources, the potential buyer – CSICL (China Shipbuilding Industry Company Limited) Longjiang Guanghan Gas Turbine Co. – is part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s 703rd Research Institute. Both are Chinese defense suppliers. The 703rd Research Institute is also included in the U.S. list of untrustworthy entities. China wants to modernize its largest Naval fleet in the world. In the future, it could run on gas turbines instead of diesel engines.
Source: RFI Chinese, July 3, 2024
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