Friday, October 18
China and Berlin in deadlock over “Great wall of Pankow”
On an unremarkable empty square in Pankow, the city of Berlin is carrying out a dispute with the People’s Republic of China.
The 21,000 square meter block is officially owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. However, according to the Federal Foreign Office, “the right of use for the property Arnold-Zweig-Str./Neumannstr. lies with the People’s Republic of China.” The GDR had transferred the rights to the communist state by means of a leasehold agreement in 1982.
This imprisoned garden was originally gifted to China in order to expand their already-existing diplomatic presence in East Berlin, but was considered too decentralised and inconveniently located.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Pankow district wanted the land back. China was open to exchanging the property for a more central one in 2010 but the deal failed due to a lack of suitable options.
China refused to return the land, instead informing the district office that it has alternative plans for Neumannstrasse: the construction of a residential and office building for embassy employees.
There is still no sign of an embassy building or scaffolding signaling plans to erect one, and governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) has stated, “There is no planning application for the site.”
A spokesman for the Senate Chancellery has stated there is “no deadline for development” on the site. China’s lease on the property is valid until 2066.
