The Chinese tech and retail giant Alibaba is being investigated by the authorities in Belgium over possible charges of espionage.
Referring to the company’s main European logistics centre at Liège airport, the Belgian security service said it was working to “detect and fight against possible spying and/or interference activities carried out by Chinese entities including Alibaba”, according to the Financial Times.
The Belgian security service also said it was looking into Alibaba’s operations at the airport based on an analysis of China’s legal framework.
Alibaba signed an agreement with the Belgian government in 2018 to open an ecommerce hub in Liège, run by its logistics arm Cainiao, which would include investment in logistics infrastructure.
However, Professor Jonathan Holslag of Vrije Universiteit Brussel to the FT the main source of concern was that Alibaba “alongside a couple of other logistical platforms that the Chinese have been proposing to European countries, is giving them a lot of insights into supply chains and into eventual vulnerabilities”.
He also said there was a risk that Cainiao could access information about consumers.
Cainiao said: “We strongly deny the allegations based on prior conjecture. Cainiao is in compliance with all laws and regulations where it operates.”
Alibaba last month filed to list its logistics arm on the Hong Kong stock exchange, which would make Cainiao the first business to be separated since Alibaba said in March it would restructure and split up its empire into six units.
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