Germany's domestic intelligence service (BfV) has warned companies to exercise caution when dealing with authoritarian foreign governments such as China.
German companies should be cautious with mandatory tax software required by the Chinese government, for instance, since those programmes risk giving Chinese authorities access to internal company information, the BfV's vice president, Sinan Selen, said on Wednesday in Berlin.
"We are increasingly seeing attempts to influence politics, business and science by illegitimate means, but also classic espionage," Selen said at the start of a joint event to address risks from China organized by the agency and the Alliance for Security in Business (ASW) on Wednesday.
He said it was high time for business leaders to come to a more realistic assessment. Where German managers had been too naive and optimistic, "these companies have practically disintegrated," he said.
To arm themselves against this risk and the infiltration of malware via Chinese apps, German companies are now generally giving employees in China "empty" devices that operate outside the global company network.
ASW Managing Director Günther Schotten said that business travellers should be aware that confidential documents may not be secure in a hotel safe in China.
The conference comes only days after German security services arrested four suspects on allegations of spying for China, including an aide to a prominent politician in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Maximilian Krah.
Three suspected spies had been arrested in western Germany shortly beforehand on allegations that they obtained information about military technology in Germany in order to pass it on to the Chinese secret service.
Selen on Wednesday said that the Chinese leadership is also keen to acquire expertise on technologies such as robotics, aerospace and automation in order to achieve the country's long-term goal of "global leadership."