A robot produced by German firm Kuka, which was taken over by a Chinese company last year. We owe that to our companies," Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said in a statement. Disquiet about a wave of foreign acquisitions by Chinese companies has been growing in Berlin since then. With robots becoming increasingly critical in the manufacturing sector - which forms the backbone of Europe's largest economy - German leaders were alarmed to see valuable know-how being transferred abroad. In February, German, French and Italian economy ministers warned the EU Commission about a “possible sell-off of European expertise”.

Source: The Local July 12, 2017 08:56 UTC