Belgian intelligence agencies are checking Alibaba’s largest hub in Europe on suspicion of espionage – Kommersant

Belgian intelligence services are checking Europe’s largest logistics hub of the Chinese company Alibaba for espionage activities. The newspaper reports this Financial Times (FT).

Representatives of the Belgian State Security Service (VSSE) told the newspaper that they are working to identify “possible espionage and/or interference activities” by a number of entities, “including Alibaba.”

The logistics hub of Alibaba’s Cainiao division is located at Liege cargo airport, the fifth largest in Europe. An agreement with the Belgian authorities to open the hub was signed in 2018, and it began operating two years ago. As part of the project, the Chinese company invested €100 million in the economy of the Belgian region of Wallonia. The logistics center processes goods purchased by European consumers through the AliExpress online store. The area of ​​the center is 30 thousand square meters. m, and now the Cainiao company is seeking to increase it to 100 thousand square meters. m.

According to VSSE representatives, Alibaba’s presence “attracts the attention” of intelligence agencies due to laws in force in the PRC, obliging Chinese companies to transfer their commercial data to Chinese authorities and intelligence agencies. “China has the intention and ability to use such data for non-commercial purposes,” VSSE noted. In addition, a new law on the control of foreign investment in critical infrastructure came into force in Belgium in July. European experts point to the software that Cainiao uses to simplify logistics operations as one of the vulnerabilities. According to Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam professor Jonathan Hoelslag, the biggest concern is that the platform exposes “supply networks and potential vulnerabilities” to the Chinese side.

According to FT sources, Cainiao has access to information about trading organizations, products, transport, routes, etc. Professor Holslag also points to the potential for the Chinese company to have access to data on end consumers. “Knowledge of important changes in consumption patterns and knowledge of supply chains are very valuable for China as a country that seeks to dominate supply chains,” the expert says.

Cainiao itself denies any illegal actions. “Data security and privacy protection are of the utmost importance to our company. We comply with all laws and regulations, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation,” the Chinese company said.

Alena Miklashevskaya