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The
cabinet agreed a decision by the economy ministry not to let
Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, which already has 53% of
the company, acquire the 45% minority stake of German company
EightyLeo, according to the sources.
KLEO Connect wants to establish a network of more than 300
small, low earth orbit satellites to be fully operational by
2028 along with the ground infrastructure to provide global
communications services - similar to SpaceX with its project
Starlink.
This emerging space sector is increasingly considered
strategically important as the recent debate over the possible
use of Starlink by the Ukrainian military in its defence against
Russia's invasion.
Elon Musk said last week he refused a Ukrainian request to
activate his Starlink satellite network in Crimea's port city of
Sevastopol last year to aid an attack on Russia's fleet there,
saying he feared complicity in a "major" act of war.
Germany has over the last year toughened its stance on China,
with the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz warning of the
need to reduce its strategic dependencies on the Asian
superpower.
Berlin last November blocked prospective Chinese investment in
two domestic semiconductor producers after the moves raised
concerns over national security and the flow of sensitive
technological know-how to Beijing.
However in May, the government gave the go-ahead for China's
state-owned shipping giant COSCO to buy part of a Hamburg
port-based container terminal despite objections from several
ministries. The United states and the European Commission had
also warned against the deal that had been long in the pipeline,
according to sources and media reports.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing Sarah Marsh; Editing by
Friederike Heine and Louise Heavens)
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