Uncertainty remains over the purchase of part of Hamburg’s Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) by Cosco

Port operator HHLA told German and EU authorities would decide whether Cosco should be allowed to purchase a 35% stake in CTT, which, though small compared with Hamburg’s other box terminals, is well-connected with the hinterland by rail.

Last month, Germany’s climate and economy minister, Robert Habeck, said he was “disinclined to allow the acquisition to take place”.

Calling for a stance of “no more naivety” in future dealings with Beijing, he added: “We cannot allow ourselves to be blackmailed… if [the Chinese market] were to close… we would have extreme sales problems.”

Concerns have arisen over Chinese ownership of European infrastructure more than once since Cosco’s acquisition of a controlling 67% stake in the Greek port of Piraeus, of which 16% is held in escrow.

Scepticism over Chinese ownership of key European logistics infrastructure appears to be written into the remit of the 2020 EU framework for screening of foreign direct investment (FDI).