Reported side agreements accompanying the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment

Question for written answer  E-000498/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Charlie Weimers (ECR), Hermann Tertsch (ECR), Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR), Marco Campomenosi (ID), Angel Dzhambazki (ECR)

According to German business weekly Wirtschaftswoche, ‘it is said in EU circles that “China wants to grant German Telecom a mobile phone licence as the first foreign group”’. Under this side agreement, Deutsche Telekom would be allowed to own infrastructure in China within five years. In exchange, Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to open up the German mobile phone market to China Mobile[1].

• 1.Is the Commission aware of any formal or informal talks with Chinese Communist Party counterparts to discuss any formal or informal side agreements?
• 2.Will it take action to guarantee a level playing field for all mobile operators, ensuring that no such side agreements would benefit certain favoured state-owned enterprises[2]?

• [1] Guter Geheimdeal – oder gefährliches Spiel, 12 January 2021 https://www.wiwo.de/my/politik/ausland/chinesisch-deutsche-zusammenarbeit-guter-geheimdeal-oder-gefaehrliches-spiel/26775380.html
• [2] Through its state-development bank KfW, the German Government owns over 30 % of Deutsche Telekom. https://www.kfw.de/KfW-Konzern/F%C3%B6rderauftrag-und-Geschichte/Privatisierung-der-Deutschen-Telekom/