New | US spying allegations are serious, Angela Merkel tells Beijing audience
Angela Merkel said allegations that a German man worked as a double agent for US were serious, as Premier Li Keqiang disputed suggestions German firms in China face threat from industrial espionage.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday allegations that a German man worked as a double agent for US intelligence were serious and, if true, were a clear contradiction of what cooperation between partners is supposed to be about.
The case risks further straining ties with Washington, which have been sorely tested by revelations last year of large-scale snooping on Germany by the US National Security Agency.
“If the reports are correct it would be a serious case,” Merkel said in Beijing, standing next to Premier Li Keqiang.
“If the allegations are true, it would be for me a clear contradiction as to what I consider to be trusting cooperation between agencies and partners.”
The White House and State Department have so far declined to comment on the arrest of a 31-year-old employee of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency.
According to intelligence and political sources, the man admits passing documents to a US contact.