Belgian intelligence is monitoring Alibaba’s main logistics center in Europe due to concerns about possible espionage, writes Financial Times.
The service is taking such measures because of suspicions that Beijing is using its growing economic presence in the West. Alibaba’s logistics hub at the airport in Liege is under surveillance.
Belgian security services have reported that they are working here to identify “possible espionage and/or interference” by Chinese companies, “including Alibaba.”
According to people in the know, attention is being paid to the implementation of software systems that collate confidential economic information. This is because of legislation that forces Chinese companies to share their data with Chinese authorities and intelligence services.
In 2018, Alibaba signed an agreement with Belgium to open a hub in Liege. It is the fifth largest cargo airport in Europe. The facility is operated by Alibaba’s logistics subsidiary Cainiao.
Concerns about potential espionage, in particular in the Belgian parliament, were expressed even before the logistics center was built. However, China strongly denied “unprovoked insinuations” about exaggerated security risks posed by its companies.
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