Beijing is secretly seeking to make Western politics friendlier to China by working to recruit experienced politicians, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency said, in a high-profile case involving a senior far-right member of the European Parliament.
The head of Verfassungsschutz, Germany’s domestic intelligence service, Thomas Haldenwang, warned of a broader trend in recent years Western politicians are being approached by China to help its cause.
Asked by Euractiv, he said that “China is very interested in cultivating a China-friendly climate [in Germany] to maintain [its political intelligence gathering] under the radar.”
“Elderly, well-known politicians and also business leaders are approached and courted with nice trips to China and special treatment with the expectation that they will convey a friendly image of China,” Haldenwang told reporters on Tuesday (Oct 18).
One of the politicians suspected of questionable ties to China is Maximilian Krach, far-right AfD MEP and its leading candidate for the 2024 European elections.
Krah was accused of taking sponsored trips to China and participation in CCP-related events; t-online reported, revealing that Krah has close ties to people involved in Chinese influence.
Despite his political leanings, Krah has taken relatively China-friendly positions, including statements of admiration for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and supporting trade with China as a way to counter American influence and protect the German economy.
However, as a relatively fresh face, Krah is an atypical case, as Beijing tends to favor so-called “Greybeards” – experienced, powerful parliamentarians and business leaders.
Krah himself told t-online that he saw no conflict of interest in his behavior.
China targets European politics
Such Chinese activities mark a shift from previous strategies that focused on industrial espionage. Beijing is increasingly moving towards policy targeting as the geopolitical situation heats up, something that has also been noted outside of Germany.
“We see the Chinese authorities playing the long game by cultivating contacts to manipulate opinion in China’s favor,” warned Britain’s MI5 Director General Ken McCallum in a state of British security speech last year.
The times recently revealed that the British Conservative Party had removed two would-be MPs from its list in 2021 and 2022 following information from MI5 that they may have been spies.
Haldenwang also pointed out that France’s DGSI was interested on Chinese activities.
European agencies are in close contact on the issue, he said, adding that it is ultimately important to “raise awareness” of the problem among potential targets.
[Edited by Oliver Noyan/Zoran Radosavljevic]