China said on Tuesday that the arrests and charges in Germany and the UK of people accused of spying for China aimed to “smear and suppress” the country.
Arrests for Espionage
On Monday, investigators in Germany apprehended three German citizens in the western part of the country on suspicion of sharing maritime technology information, as stated by prosecutors in a release. The individuals, known only as Herwig F, Ina F, and Thomas R, allegedly participated in a data collection project financed by Chinese state entities and unlawfully exported a laser to China.
Additionally, German prosecutors revealed on Tuesday the arrest of another individual, an assistant to a far-right German politician running in the upcoming EU elections, on suspicion of espionage for China.
Meanwhile, in the UK, two men were charged with transferring “articles, notes, documents, or information” to China between 2021 and last year. The accused are Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously served as a researcher in the UK Parliament.
Incidents of alleged spying by China have also been reported in other European countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, and Poland.
An aide to a member of the European Parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany has been arrested on suspicion of ‘especially severe’ espionage for China, the latest in a spate of such arrests across Europe https://t.co/r1KjiEaHZp pic.twitter.com/UKGrgQttVk
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 24, 2024
Comments from China
During his press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called the events “media hype.”
“The so-called ‘threat of Chinese spies’ is not a new thing in Europe. Every time before or after China-Europe high-level interactions in recent years, there would be such a hype, with a clear intention of smearing and hitting China and souring the atmosphere of China-EU cooperation,” Wang said.
He stressed that China “carries out cooperation with European and all other countries on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and advances mutually beneficial cooperation… in accordance with laws and regulations.”
Wang also expressed hope that Germany “will ditch the Cold War mentality and stop the political manipulation aimed at China with so-called ‘spy risks.’”