According to new media reports, Germany is taking measures to prevent Chinese buyouts of its domestic chip industry.

According to a new report in Politico, a Swedish subsidiary of China’s Sai Microelectronics was blocked from purchasing Dortmund-based chip-maker Elmos for €85 million, by Germany’s Economy Ministry.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck said, “We have prohibited a non-Union investor from entering into business ventures in Germany. The reason for this is that the security of order in Germany must be protected and critical production areas require special protection.”

On Habeck’s orders, another purchase of Bavaria’s ERS Electronic by a Chinese investor was also barred by the Federal Cabinet, according to the Handelsblatt newspaper quoting government sources.

According to news service Reuters, the government is working with the Economy Ministry to create a China strategy that would protect technology infrastructure and prevent technology leakage, while reducing one-sided dependencies and encouraging diversification.

The EU has sought to create its own domestic semiconductor industry after confronting the supply chain problems seen during and after the pandemic. In May, the German government offered €14 billion ($14 billion) in financial support seeking to attract manufacturers to develop manufacturing hubs in the country. As a result, US semiconductor giant Intel decided earlier in the year it would build a new manufacturing center in Germany.

The crackdown on semiconductor purchases comes on the heels of a controversy which erupted after Chancellor Olaf Scholz sold a minority stake in a shipping terminal in the port of Hamburg to a Chinese shipping group, COSCO, last month. The deal was criticized for creating a dependence on Chinese interests, just as the nation was confronting the consequences of allowing itself to become dependent on Russian fuel imports.