German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck recently clarified Germany’s position on trade with China, saying that while Germany has no aversion to trade with China overall, there will be certain sensitive areas in the German economy where Chinese investment is not welcome. He issued the statement after Germany prevented Chinese buyouts of companies in the semiconductor and computer chip sector.

The statements came in Singapore on Sunday, as Habeck noted to Germany’s DW media that Berlin was, “of course, interested in trade with China, but not in stupid trade with China.” He added Germany need to protect its “critical infrastructure” and “sectors where critical goods and knowledge are developed.”

He also noted, “In the problematic areas, we have to be more careful than we have been before.”

He was quick to add, however, that Germany did not wish to decouple entirely from its second largest export market, and he noted Berlin’s approach to China has been more gentle than Washington’s.

But he noted that Germany needed to retain its “own sovereignty” over the telecommunications, energy, chip and semiconductor sectors. He also noted critical infrastructure like ports, airports and hospitals were other areas where Chinese investment would not be welcomed by the German government.

When asked about last month’s purchase of a stake in the Port of Hamburg, by Chinese shipping magnate Cosco, he admitted in retrospect, he would rather the deal have never happened. However he said that in order to produce, “unity in the cabinet” they needed to accept a compromise deal, implying the entire three-way “traffic light” coalition that decides such matter was not entirely in agreement which his strict stance.

However he said the government as a whole was united around Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s stricter China strategy.

Berlin had halted two purchases of German tech firms by Chinese entities earlier in the week, pointing to the potential loss of critical technological capabilities for the nation.

On the subject of Taiwan, Habeck noted that any China attack on Taiwan would have much more serious repercussions for the global economy than the ongoing military campaign being waged by Russia in the Ukraine.

He warned that German multinationals operating in China and Taiwan should keep a watchful eye on the risks of any conflict in the Taiwan strait.