This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).
Germany’s armed forces will ban Chinese cars from their facilities and stop using small drones made in China. The stated reason is security: the fear that the equipment could transmit sensitive military information to Beijing. The decision was revealed by the German magazine Der Spiegel and echoed by the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
According to the Portuguese newspaper Público, the measure takes effect immediately, and soldiers will only be able to keep using approved systems. Until now, commanders could buy drones from DJI, a Chinese manufacturer. The Austrian newspaper Die Presse names BYD, NIO and Geely among the brands affected.
According to the newspaper Ponto Final, the Chinese drones used in training will be replaced with European models, and the German Defense Ministry considers any sensor on these devices a potential threat. The British newspaper The i Paper reports that the replacement with European equipment was confirmed by the ministry itself.
The distrust is not only German. Die Presse reports that Austria’s Defense Ministry is weighing a similar restriction for its barracks. According to The i Paper, the United States has already barred BYD vehicles from a military base, and Poland has banned Chinese products.
The concern reflects a change in the car itself: modern vehicles, especially electric ones, operate connected, with cameras, sensors and location systems that collect data all the time. For European militaries, this flow of information inside a restricted area has come to be seen as a risk.
In Brazil, the scenario is different. BYD manufactures electric vehicles at its factory in the country and also operates a plant in Hungary, as the German newspaper Dresdner Morgenpost notes. Brazil has become a destination for Chinese investment in the automotive sector, while part of Europe debates how to limit the presence of these brands in sensitive areas.
Even within Europe, Chinese carmakers choose where to set up. An analysis by the AMZ institute, cited by the Dresdner Morgenpost, indicates that manufacturers prefer countries such as Spain and Hungary, because of costs and incentives, and avoid the German state of Saxony, where licensing is slower. The average hourly wage in Saxony is 45 euros, compared with 15.20 euros in Hungary.
The contrast shows two postures toward China: on one side, governments that see connected cars as a possible gateway for espionage; on the other, countries that see Chinese factories as jobs, investment and access to electric cars.
Reporting from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (p. 1, Berlim), Público (p. 39), Die Presse (p. 3), Ponto Final (p. 16), The i Paper (p. 38), Dresdner Morgenpost (pp. 10 e 11, Zwickau).
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