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The
study conducted by the IW economic institute, analyzing
Bundesbank data on behalf of the newspaper, found German license
revenues from China more than tripled in 2022 compared to 2014.
Compared with 2020, the increase was about half.
"There is a clear early indication that Chinese companies are
looking for a new way to get access to German technology," said
Juergen Matthes, head of IW's global and regional markets
research unit.
Tech licenses are one way for China to try to get in "through
the back door", he told Reuters.
With the German economy still smarting from a breakdown in ties
with Russia, Berlin launched an overhaul of its China policy,
calling for a "de-risking" approach that seeks to avoid
over-reliance, while acknowledging the country's importance as a
key market for many companies.
As a result, direct investments and takeover bids by Chinese
companies have attracted scrutiny in Berlin in recent months.
Last year, a bid by China's Cosco to invest in a Hamburg port
terminal triggered a political crisis before being approved at a
lower stake than originally planned.
Through licensing agreements, Chinese companies can gain legal
permission to use German technology.
According to Handelsblatt, most such agreements are considered
unproblematic, but in some cases they give Chinese companies
access to sensitive research, for example in the semiconductor
industry, where the technological know-how can also be applied
in a military context.
Asked whether Berlin would regulate such license models more
closely, a spokesperson for the German economy ministry told
Reuters various options were being examined as part of a planned
reform of investment audit law.
(Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Kirsti Knolle and Sharon
Singleton)
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