The German government has urged China to close down illegal overseas police stations that are suspected of being used by the Chinese authorities to control and intimidate Chinese expatriates living abroad. The German authorities have been in talks with the Chinese government since November 2020 about shutting down these operations.
Although the Chinese government acknowledged that it was running so-called service stations in Germany, it denied that it was operating illegal police stations on German territory. However, Germany claims that China still maintains at least two mobile police stations in the country, whose activities are carefully watched by local authorities.
The German Interior Ministry spokesman, Maximilian Kall, said that the security authorities are monitoring the activities of these overseas police stations and other activities of foreign states in Germany. He clarified that the concern is not about closing traditional police stations, but rather about convincing people involved to stop engaging in illegal overseas activities.
Germany is liaising closely with the US and other European Union member states on the matter and on how to address the extraterritorial activities of Chinese security authorities more broadly. The German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Andrea Sasse, added that Berlin is also in ongoing talks with China about the issue.
The Chinese Embassy in Germany has denied the allegations and stated that "the Chinese government has always upheld international law and respected the sovereignty and jurisdiction of all countries." However, the embassy's statement did not address the specific allegations of illegal overseas police stations.
In April 2021, the US Department of Justice charged two Chinese nationals with seeking to set up an overseas police station in New York on behalf of the Fuzhou branch of China’s Ministry of Public Security. The case is part of a broader US crackdown on Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft.