China urges Germany to 'stop smearing and vilifying' it in spy case
The alleged spy, named by prosecutors as Jian G, is suspected of working with Chinese intelligence since 2002, including while he was an aide to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Maximilian Krah between 2019 and 2024.
"We urge the German side to stop smearing and vilifying China, and to take concrete actions to uphold the positive momentum in the development of bilateral relations," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
"The so-called 'China espionage threat' is purely fabricated and malicious slander," Guo said, adding China "has always upheld the principles of mutual respect".
Krah was the party's top candidate in last year's European elections, but was excluded from its delegation after comments in which he minimised the crimes of the Nazis' notorious SS.
Krah has since been welcomed back into the AfD fold and was elected as an MP in the German parliament in February's snap general election.
Prosecutors said Jian G, a German national, used his job as Krah's assistant to "gather information on the deliberations and decisions of the European parliament" for Chinese intelligence, including "procuring more than 500 documents, some of which had been classified as particularly sensitive".
He is also suspected of gathering intelligence on leading AfD politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany.
This included posing as an opponent of the Chinese government on social media in order to gain contacts in the opposition scene.
The European Parliament, which had listed Jian Guo as an accredited assistant to Krah, moved to suspend the aide after his arrest in April 2024.
Prosecutors said a Chinese national named as Yaqi X has also been charged with helping Jian G to access information on flights and passengers at Leipzig Airport.
She worked at a company which provided the airport with logistics services.
The information she passed on focused on flights transporting defence equipment and "people with links to a German arms company".
At the time of her arrest in October, news site Der Spiegel reported that Yaqi X. had in particular targeted the arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights.
Krah's various scandals have not dampened his political fortunes – or indeed those of the AfD more widely.
In February's election the party had its best-ever performance, doubling its vote share to more than 20 per cent and becoming the second-biggest group in parliament, with 152 seats out of a total of 630.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
UEFA bans Montenegrin club FK Arsenal Tivat for 10 years over match-fixing
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Draw For Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final - UEFA Headquarters, Nyon, Switzerland - March 15, 2024 General view of the UEFA logo after the draw REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File photo Montenegrin club FK Arsenal Tivat have been handed a 10-year ban from UEFA club competitions after an investigation into allegations of match-fixing during their Conference League qualifying tie with Alashkert FC in July 2023, the European governing body said on Wednesday. The decision was taken by UEFA's disciplinary body CEDB following a lengthy investigation into the qualifiers, where Arsenal Tivat drew 1-1 on the road before losing to the Armenian side 6-1 at home. Reuters has reached out to Arsenal Tivat for comment. Global governing body FIFA will be requested to extend the ban, which runs till the end of the 2034-35 season, to competitions worldwide, UEFA said in a statement. Arsenal Tivat player Nikola Celebic and official Ranko Krgovic were also given lifetime bans by CEDB, while two other players were given 10-year suspensions. The Montenegrin First League club was also handed a fine of 500,000 euros ($578,400). REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Nvidia's Jensen Huang turns on the charm in Beijing amid US-China tech rivalry
Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang ditched his iconic black leather jacket for a traditional Tang suit at a trade exhibition in Beijing on July 16. - On a high-profile trip to China, with billions in potential sales to the lucrative Chinese semiconductor market at stake, Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang ditched his iconic black leather jacket for a traditional Tang suit. At the opening of a trade exhibition in Beijing on July 16, the Taiwan-born American spoke a few sentences of halting Mandarin, before adding to laughter: 'I'm going to do the rest of my speech in English now. So I don't torture you for the rest of the day.' Describing AI (artificial intelligence) models from Chinese tech players like DeepSeek, Alibaba and Baidu as 'world-class', he said: 'The heroes of China's super fast innovation are your researchers, developers and entrepreneurs. More than 1.5 million developers in China build on Nvidia today to bring their innovations to life.' Nvidia is at the heart of a global AI boom and last week became the first public company to hit US$4 trillion in stock market value . Mr Huang, who is among the American tech executives who are trying to court Chinese customers while not falling afoul of Washington's national security concerns, has come prepared on his third China visit of the year. On July 15, Nvidia announced that sales of its H20 chip to China would resume , with Washington's nod. The AI chip, a less powerful version of the firm's flagship H100, had been banned in April when Washington tightened export controls to China. But analysts said the move to approve the China-specific chip is merely a reprieve which may not last, with technology at the heart of US-China competition and both countries still in the middle of a 90-day trade truce since May 12. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Over 600 Telegram groups in Singapore selling, advertising vapes removed by HSA Singapore 2 weeks' jail for man caught smuggling over 1,800 vapes and pods into Singapore Singapore Jail for man who fatally hit his daughter, 2, while driving van without licence Singapore Primary 1 registration: 38 primary schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2A Singapore ComfortDelGro to introduce new taxi cancellation, waiting fee policy Singapore Here comes the sun: Less rain, more warm days in second half of July Singapore Instead of overcomplicating COE system, Govt has ensured affordable transport for all: SM Lee to Jamus Lim Singapore Baby died after mum took abortion pills and gave birth in toilet; coroner records an open verdict The H20's ban was estimated to have cost Nvidia US$10.5 billion across its April and July quarters. The policy reversal came after Mr Huang lobbied US President Donald Trump at the White House last week. On his visit, Mr Huang also unveiled a new graphics processing unit for the China market called the RTX Pro, which he said is 'fully compliant' with US export restrictions and would be designed for smart factories and robot training purposes. 'It takes 200 different technology companies to build one of our AI computers… it is not possible without a sophisticated supply chain,' he told President Ren Hongbin of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. 'That's why I'm here - to celebrate the miracle of the (Chinese) supply chain.' The Council, a government-affiliated trade body, is the organiser of the 3rd International Supply Chain Expo held in Beijing from July 16 to 20, which Nvidia took part in for the first time. Mr Huang was among the speakers at the opening ceremony. Even as he received the VIP treatment in China, Nvidia has remained caught in the crosshairs of Washington and Beijing. Mr Huang has argued that continuing to sell to China means that the US is not ceding the Chinese market to domestic players such as Huawei. He has also said that US tech export controls to China have failed, and have only pushed Chinese firms to innovate more quickly. But some, including US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, have said that Nvidia and other companies should stop helping China use 'our tools to compete with us'. Associate Professor Marina Zhang of the University of Technology Sydney saw Mr Huang's recent remarks as an effort to position himself - and Nvidia - as both compliant with US policy and indispensable to China's AI eco-system. Prof Zhang, who researches on China and technology issues, did not see the approval of the H20 as a reversal in policy, but more of a calibration. 'It reflects a 'precision sanctions' approach: allowing US firms to serve China's mid-tier AI market - keeping American players commercially viable - while still blocking access to cutting-edge compute essential for training frontier models. 'Washington is walking a tightrope: trying to avoid a full market exit for firms like Nvidia while continuing to constrain China's long-term AI capabilities,' she said, adding that this policy adjustment will not reverse China's determination to develop indigenous technologies, particularly in semiconductors. Dr Sun Chenghao, who researches US foreign policy and US-China relations at Tsinghua University, said the US decision to resume H20 chip sales to China did not represent a fundamental reversal of export controls. Rather, it is a temporary concession driven by commercial pressure and geopolitical calculations. Nvidia suffered significant losses under April's export ban, prompting Mr Huang to lobby intensely for policy adjustments, he said. 'While Washington greenlit the sales, it strictly capped the H20's performance (merely 15 to 30 per cent of the H100's capabilities) to prevent its use in cutting-edge AI training—revealing its unchanged core aim: delaying China's technological advancement.' Dr Sun said Washington could reimpose stricter controls if China's domestic chip substitutes progress faster than expected, or if US political pressures intensify. 'Notably, America has explicitly tied tech export policies to broader trade negotiations, meaning export restrictions will remain a bargaining chip to pressure China if talks stall,' he added. Mr Huang himself saw such geopolitical issues as beyond his control. When asked about the impact of US tariffs in a press conference on July 16, he said Nvidia would simply have to adapt. 'There were trade, taxes and tariffs before I came into Nvidia. There will be trade, tariffs and taxes after I leave Nvidia.'
Business Times
4 hours ago
- Business Times
China vows to regulate ‘irrational' competition in EV industry
[BEIJING] China's Cabinet on Wednesday (Jul 16) pledged to regulate what it called 'irrational' competition in the country's electric vehicle industry, vowing to strengthen cost investigation and price monitoring, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The Cabinet meeting, presided by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, was held as a two-year price war in the world's largest auto market only intensifies. China will focus on promoting the high-quality development of the electric vehicle industry and implement comprehensive measures in both the short- and long-term to address the 'phenomenon of irrational competition' in the sector, CCTV quoted the Cabinet as saying, without giving further details. The Cabinet will also urge the main automakers to fulfil commitments on supplier payment terms and promised to help them boost competitiveness through technological innovation and quality improvement. Industry regulators and executives have previously warned of excessive competition and called on automakers to halt the bruising price war which they say threatens the sector's health and sustainable development. Concerns about oversupply persist, with new vehicles being shipped overseas as 'used' since 2019, according to a Reuters report in late June. Separately, the Cabinet meeting discussed boosting domestic consumption, with policymakers vowing to systematically remove unreasonable restrictions that hinder household spending and optimise policies for a consumer goods trade-in program. REUTERS
