The Federal Ministry of Transport wants to take a closer look at foreign investors entering German ports in future.

"Ports are sometimes classified as critical infrastructure," states the "National Ports Strategy", which the Federal Cabinet approved on Wednesday according to government sources. The strategy, which does not specifically mention China in this context, states that investments and participations from third countries should therefore not only be based on the interests of the respective country and local location interests. There must also be an EU-wide view: "There must also be close European coordination with regard to securing the European port infrastructure."

The National Ports Strategy aims to ensure that German seaports and inland ports continue to play an important role in global transport chains. "The basic prerequisite for this is adequate funding for the seaports and inland ports, including their hinterland connections, in line with their strategic importance," the concept states. It lists 140 federal and state measures that are necessary for expansion and maintenance. The timetable and responsibilities are also mentioned, but the controversial question of cost distribution remains open.

The German coastal ports in particular face tough competition from other European ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp. The strategy points out that competitiveness depends on modern port infrastructure, hinterland connections, handling costs and the level of government regulations and fees.

The background to the review of foreign direct investment is primarily the debate about Chinese investors investing in European port infrastructure. In May 2023, the German government finally approved the Chinese state-owned shipping company Cosco's investment in an operating company for one of the four container terminals in the Port of Hamburg only after lengthy debates, but limited its stake to less than 25 percent.

(Report by Andreas Rinke; edited by Christian Götz. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)