German Spy Chief Says China’s Tech Takeovers Are a Security Risk

  • Annual report shows rise in acquisitions of German companies
  • Spy chief Maassen says technology transfer threatens security

A pedestrian walks past the Midea Group Co. headquarters in Foshan, China.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Chancellor Angela Merkel’s top counterintelligence official said Chinese acquisitions of high-tech companies in Germany represent a potential national-security threat.

The head of Germany’s top domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, highlighted the issue in an annual report on security risks that included cyber attacks from China and Russia as well as a rise in threats from Islamist, far-right and far-left fringe groups.