The German government on Wednesday rejected a potential Chinese investment in two domestic semiconductor makers, citing national security concerns as the main reason, according to local media reports.
Earlier in the day, the cabinet banned Elmos, a German company based in Dortmund, from selling a chip manufacturing facility to a Chinese company, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said, as Elmos also publicly confirmed.
He said unequivocally that China’s planned purchase of Elmo would have endangered public order and security in Germany.
The other case is subject to company trade secrets, so he could not go into details, he added.
The second case of the blockade is related to the purchase by a Chinese investor of the Bavarian company ERS Electronic. ERS Electronic is a multinational semiconductor equipment company.