“China is developing wide-ranging spying and influence activities. We must be prepared for these to increase in the coming years,” Verfassungsschutz agency chief Thomas Haldenwang told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

He warned that economic dependence on China could be exploited for political influence.

“China is pursuing a long-term strategy to achieve its goals,” Haldenwang said. “The political leadership is already using its economic power, which also results from intensive relations with the German and European economies, to implement political goals.”

The German government has been reassessing its economic relations with authoritarian countries after the Ukraine war laid bare the vulnerabilities of Berlin’s years-long energy dependence on Russia.

In a strategy paper seen by Reuters, the economy ministry recommended imposing stricter requirements for firms dealing with China, for example by undergoing regular stress tests.