Belgium fears Alibaba is a nest of spies

 

The giant Alibaba, established since 2018 at Liège airport, where it is developing one of its main European “hubs” with its logistics subsidiary Cainiao, will it bring Chinese spies into Belgium? The Belgian intelligence services and the Minister of Justice seem, in any case, convinced that the danger of seeing agents accessing sensitive information is real.

Article reserved for our subscribers Read also The fine of 2.3 billion euros imposed on Alibaba, a sign of the takeover of the tech giants by Beijing

It was a designated opponent of the Beijing regime, the environmentalist deputy Samuel Cogolati who launched the debate. Appearing on a list of European personalities sanctioned by Beijing for their support for the cause of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang, the Belgian parliamentarian questioned the federal government at the beginning of May on the massive presence of Alibaba in the area of Walloon airport. The company is investing 100 million euros there and will have a space of 220,000 square meters.

Subject to orders

According to Mr. Cogolati, Alibaba is not a simple private operator but is subject to the orders of the communist regime. Vincent Van Quickenborne, Minister of Justice, replied in mid-May that, according to State Security – the national intelligence service – there was a risk ” certain “ that, via Liège Airport, China is trying to use economic files to exert political pressure. The Flemish liberal minister also explained that a Chinese law on national intelligence obliges companies like Alibaba to cooperate with intelligence agencies and to open positions within them to their agents.

Article reserved for our subscribers Read also Beijing warns Chinese tech giants again

These agents could therefore ” have access to sensitive and secure areas of the airport ”, said Mr. Van Quickenborne. “Alibaba will have to obey the Chinese security apparatus in the event that the latter wishes to have access to potentially sensitive commercial and personal data held by Alibaba, within the framework of its activities in Liège”, he added, specifying that Belgian intelligence still had only suspicions, and no formal proof, in this regard.

The city’s airport would, in any case, be of importance “Strategic” for Beijing, concluded the minister. In his response to Mr. Cogolati, the minister also referred to a Chinese law on cybersecurity obliging companies to store their data on local servers and granting vast powers to the Chinese security services, authorized to consult the computer systems of companies, even from a distance. “These services are also authorized to copy data, including data relating to users. This law applies to any company that provides a service via the internet, including Alibaba ”, Mr. Van Quickenborne noted.