Belgium's intelligence agency, the State Security Service (VSSE), has been closely monitoring Alibaba's primary logistics hub in Europe amidst growing suspicions that China may be utilizing its

expanding economic presence for espionage purposes in the Western world, according to a report by the Financial Times on Thursday.

The VSSE informed the Financial Times that it is actively working to identify and investigate "potential espionage and/or interference activities" conducted by Chinese companies, with a specific mention of Alibaba.

Alibaba, however, has consistently denied any allegations of wrongdoing. In 2018, the e-commerce giant signed an agreement with Belgium to establish a logistics hub at the Liège cargo airport. This facility, managed by Alibaba's logistics subsidiary Cainiao, primarily handles products sold through its online shopping platform, AliExpress.

Concerns regarding Alibaba's presence in Liège were raised even before the hub became operational in 2021. The VSSE had initially warned of potential espionage risks associated with the company's operations in the region. Subsequently, the security service has continued to monitor Alibaba's activities, based on intelligence assessments, as reported by the Financial Times.

The VSSE emphasized that Alibaba's presence is a "point of attention" due to Chinese legislation mandating companies to share their data with Chinese authorities and intelligence agencies. The agency expressed concerns about China's potential to utilize this data for non-commercial purposes.

In response, Cainiao has strongly denied any allegations of wrongdoing and emphasized its commitment to data security and privacy protection. The company stated, "Data security and privacy protection is of paramount concern to our business. We are in compliance with all laws and regulations, including GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)." Photo by N509FZ, Wikimedia commons.