Steffen Schindler | I was an East German Spy in China

Steffen Schindler: From East German Intelligence in China to a Restaurant Entrepreneur

Steffen Schindler recounts his unusual transition from a high-ranking East German military intelligence officer in China to an entrepreneurial food-and-restaurant businessman. He frames the story as both a geopolitical account and a personal adaptation narrative.

Origin and “Spy” Label

• Schindler says calling him a “spy” is “unfair” in tone, though he acknowledges the role and outcomes associated with intelligence work.
• He emphasizes that luck and personal initiative shaped careers in the former GDR, and that many others in similar positions experienced comparable twists.

Intelligence Career Across the Cold War

• He describes a military career path focused on:
  • military reconnaissance and information work
  • postings including Yugoslavia, followed by Egypt, and later reassignment
• Egypt assignment:
  • He says his task centered on monitoring U.S. activity and handling counter–PLO work.
  • He recounts attempts aimed at destabilizing or assassinating Yasser Arafat, claiming the work was effective and that he met Arafat multiple times.
• Shift to China:
  • Schindler portrays his reassignment from Egypt to China as sudden and decisive.
  • He says a senior general told him he would go to China, ending his previous plans.

Life in China Around 1989–1990

• Schindler describes a “club-like” world of foreign military attachés, where cooperation was cautious and professional—even across NATO/Warsaw lines.
• He recounts German unification and East German unrest, including:
  • Schabowski’s TV statement about travel permissions and the resulting lack of immediate violence
  • internal East German decisions not to deploy military force against demonstrators (which he credits to a choice to keep troops in barracks)
  • his end-of-mission: after diplomatic listings and pressure, he prepared to leave China in September 1990

From Military Officer to Capitalist Entrepreneur

• Returning to Germany, he initially fears he will not be able to earn as a “former soldier,” but he finds opportunities through connections and business partners.
• He trains quickly and intensively to become a butcher, passes industry chamber exams, and then returns to China to build a meat-slaughter and processing operation.

Business Break: Selling 250 Tons of Roast Beef Fat-Trimmed for the Chinese Army

A major turning point came through a deal arranged via a Chinese army contact, Captain Deng:

• Schindler’s German employer had frozen roast beef stock—250 tons.
• A specific demand in China (sports-related) required trimming fat away.
• He argues the product was not commercially attractive in normal markets, so they offered it to the army instead.
• The transaction used informal “handshake” arrangements rather than contracts.
• He portrays Chinese enforcement of informal agreements as stronger than paperwork, describing this moment as what made it credible for him to build a lasting business in China.

Building Slaughterhouse Capacity and Adapting to Islamic Rules

• He takes over the slaughterhouse and expands production.
• In a Muslim/halal region where pigs cannot be slaughtered, he adapts by:
  • adding a separate cutting department for pork to enable sausage production while not violating slaughter rules
• He also helps develop a butcher-shop model in Beijing beyond hotel settings, though he reports early failures linked to poor inventory rotation and spoilage.

Partnerships, Franchising-Adjacent Supply Chains, and Infrastructure Challenges

Schindler describes attempts to work with major international brands and suppliers:

• Supplying meat for McDonald’s, after vetting by U.S. Army authorities.
• A stalled joint venture concept with OSI in Chicago (Husi), which still influences operational changes—including construction and demolition work.
• For construction, he claims Chinese military support solved a concrete-removal problem using a soundless cracking agent (a technology originating in East Germany).

Later Career with an Israeli Businessman (Eisenberg) and High-Level Networks

After earlier contracts, Schindler enters a new phase with Israeli businessman Eisenberg:

• Eisenberg offers him leadership within a holding structure containing many joint ventures, spanning areas such as edible oil and equipment supply.
• Schindler describes frequent travel and close professional cooperation.
• He also suggests ongoing access to German diplomatic and military circles via meetings and introductions—bridging “expat” networks and state actors.

Restaurant Founding: Triggered by a Bad Dining Experience + Cash-Flow Pressures

Schindler attributes the founding of his German restaurant to two main factors:

• Personal dissatisfaction
  • Frustration with hotel restaurant food quality and service led him to believe he could run it better.
• Cash-flow lessons
  • His earlier experience supplying food to hotels and catering operations taught him that payment terms could create serious liquidity problems.

He also describes early turbulence: government inspections and threats of temporary shutdown, though the restaurant remained open after clarifications.

Business Constraints and Joint Venture Governance Lessons

Schindler argues joint ventures fail when ownership and decision-making balance is “unbalanced”:

• Foreign partners may lack enough control to drive improvements
• Yet still have enough influence to create recurring conflict

Other lessons he highlights:

• “Losing face” dynamics require careful management of workforce expectations.
• Operational discipline matters: missing accounting and inventory errors can be concealed until major discrepancies force correction.
• He reports business success (profit levels and expansion), but also ongoing bureaucratic compliance costs, including hygiene-control requirements.

Retrospective on China’s Progress and Food Safety

In conclusion:

• He calls his China years “a great time,” praising personal relationships and the country’s development over three decades.
• On food quality, he argues today’s food is safer than early-1990s meat markets, citing issues like hygiene problems, flies, and contamination risk.
• He also notes environmental and urban improvements and a decline in certain “scam-like” street behaviors.

Presenters or Contributors (as Named in the Subtitles)

• Steffen Schindler
• (Interviewer/host) Steffen Schindler interview host (name not provided)
• Mr. Hecht (company representative)
• Mr. Annuss / “Anuss” (business contact; name unclear)
• Colonel Light (U.S. military attaché)
• General Streletz (East German chief of general staff)
• Mengistu Haile Mariam (historical reference)
• Yasser Arafat (historical reference)
• Colonel Dr. Arnold (Egypt posting)
• General Schwartz (historical reference)
• Mr. Schabowski (TV reference)
• Krenz (then East German National Security Council reference)
• Rainer Eppelmann (described)
• General Eberthart Michel (Bundeswehr attaché in Egypt)
• Dr. Becker (BND office chief in Beijing, described)
• Eisenberg / Mr. Eisenberg (Israeli businessman)
• Li Lanqing (Vice Prime Minister reference)
• Captain Deng (Chinese army contact)
• Heinz Schumann (hotel general manager reference)
• UDI / United Development Incorporated (company reference)
• Josef Masur (business associate reference)
• Ruehl (board member reference)
• Oberst Eberthart Michel (Bundeswehr attaché reference)