US targets China’s grip on global ports in sweeping maritime mission

US President Donald Trump’s medication is connected a ngo to weaken China’s planetary web of ports and bring much strategic terminals under Western control, according to three sources acquainted with the plan.

The thrust is portion of the astir ambitious effort to grow US maritime power since the 1970s and is designed to code increasing fears successful Washington that it would beryllium astatine a disadvantage to China successful the lawsuit of a conflict.

Trump medication officials judge the US commercialized shipping fleet is ill-equipped to supply logistical support for the subject successful clip of war and Washington’s dependence connected overseas ships and ports is excessive, the radical said.

Options the White House is considering see supporting backstage US oregon Western firms to bargain Chinese stakes successful ports, the three radical said. They did not notation immoderate specific firms different than to mention BlackRock’s projected woody to bargain the larboard assets of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison successful 23 countries, including by the Panama Canal, arsenic a bully example.

The sources asked not to beryllium named due to the fact that they are not authorised to sermon the substance publicly. The White House and US Treasury did not respond to requests for comment.

Besides Panama, US officials and lawmakers are acrophobic astir Chinese maritime infrastructure holdings successful places including Greece and Spain, the Caribbean, and US West Coast ports, according to the sources.

China conducts mean co-operation with different countries within the model of planetary law, a spokesperson with China’s diplomatic ngo successful Washington said. “China has ever been firmly opposed to amerciable and unjustifiable unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction and moves that infringe connected and undermine different countries’ morganatic rights and interests done economical coercion, hegemonism and bullying,” the spokesperson said.

Officials successful Beijing did not respond to a petition for comment.

“The US authorities sees Chinese investments successful planetary ports arsenic a immense menace to its nationalist security,” said Stuart Poole-Robb, laminitis of hazard and quality advisers KCS Group. “The interest is that China could leverage its power implicit these assets for espionage, subject vantage oregon to disrupt supply chains during geopolitical crises,” helium said, citing conversations with US information counterparts.

Greek larboard successful focus

The US intends to look astatine Chinese interests successful the Greek larboard of Piraeus, the three sources said. Situated successful Athens, successful the eastbound Mediterranean, Piraeus is simply a pivotal hub connected the trade way linking Europe, Africa and Asia. COSCO, 1 of China’s biggest larboard and shipping groups, holds a 67% stake successful the Piraeus Port Authority company.

Some Chinese investors are acrophobic Washington whitethorn want to target COSCO’s operations successful Greece, a source adjacent to Chinese investors progressive successful Greek shipping said.

COSCO and the Greek authorities did not respond to requests for comment. Greek officials person told Reuters antecedently that they person not been informed astir immoderate plans to alteration power of Piraeus.

Washington already has COSCO successful its sights. The Department of Defense added state-owned COSCO to its blacklist of companies with links to the Chinese subject successful January. While the designation does not impact contiguous bans connected US companies doing concern with those listed, it tin enactment arsenic a awesome that further enactment is being considered.

“The United States intends to onslaught China’s planetary power by exaggerating the ‘China menace theory’ and use this arsenic an excuse to unit allies to take sides successful supply concatenation arrangements,” the Development Research Center of the State Council, an authoritative think-tank of China’s governing cabinet, said successful a insubstantial published past month.

The US medication has unveiled measures to summation America’s thin commercialized maritime beingness astir the world, including by encouraging home shipbuilding, is looking to grow entree to US-controlled shipping registries, and is besides reviewing planetary maritime chokepoints for shipping risks.

China owns oregon leases an extended web of ports done companies including COSCO and different state-controlled enterprises such arsenic China Merchants and SIPG successful Shanghai.

According to a study published past year by the Council of Foreign Relations, a US think-tank, China had investments successful 129 larboard projects worldwide done various companies, arsenic of August 2024.

China’s shipbuilding manufacture is besides estimated to beryllium 230 times larger than US shipyard capacity, meaning it could take decades to drawback up, according to US Navy estimates.

The US maritime propulsion has contributed to tensions with Beijing, which sees larboard and shipping assets arsenic integral to its Belt and Road initiative, astatine a clip when the two superpowers are already astatine loggerheads implicit trade and tariffs.

Mediterranean getaway under review

In March, the US Federal Maritime Commission launched a reappraisal of 7 maritime chokepoints. It said it wanted to place regulations, policies oregon practices “that make unfavourable shipping conditions”.

The Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Africa astatine the entranceway to the Mediterranean Sea, was 1 such waterway the reappraisal is examining.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has sought to deepen trade ties with China and this has raised concerns successful Washington implicit Beijing’s entree to its ports, two of the sources said.

“We are not alert of immoderate alleged concerns oregon approaches by third parties connected this substance and so it is not due for us to comment,” a Spanish overseas ministry spokesperson said when asked for remark astir Chinese larboard investments.
COSCO has concessions to run instrumentality terminals successful Valencia and Bilbao, a Spanish Port Authority spokesperson said.

Trump has taken galore steps since returning to the White House to boost US power implicit the seas. He signed an enforcement bid successful April to revive shipbuilding capableness to grow the fleet of US-controlled vessels. His medication is examining a connection to found a shipping registry successful the US Virgin Islands that could pull vessels to a US-controlled emblem without having to conscionable the stricter standards of the home US registry.

The US is poised to start hitting Chinese-built oregon Chinese-flagged vessels with fees for calling astatine US ports. And Trump has besides flagged seizing the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland arsenic an objective, owed to its proximity to the Arctic and cardinal shipping lanes.

Together, this each adds up to the astir ambitious effort by the US to amended its presumption successful planetary shipping since President Richard Nixon, who tried to bolster home shipbuilding, the commercialized vessel registry, and US oversea power, the sources acquainted with the plans said.

“The US successful the abbreviated to mean term is apt to proceed its efforts to antagonistic Chinese power successful the cardinal larboard areas by gathering alliances and partnerships to antagonistic Chinese powerfulness and economical growth,” said Poole-Robb astatine KCS.

Caribbean shipping concerns 

The United States has expressed interest too astir Chinese concern successful Jamaica’s Kingston terminal, a cardinal maritime transhipment hub successful the Caribbean owed to its determination and deep-water larboard facilities, according to the three sources.
China Merchants has a stake successful the institution operating Kingston’s instrumentality terminal together with France’s CMA CGM. Chinese metals radical JISCO bought the Alpart alumina refinery successful St Elizabeth west of the superior successful 2016 and owns adjacent Port Kaiser.

A June investigation by the Center for Strategic & International Studies think-tank said China’s beingness successful Kingston posed the top information hazard to the United States retired of each Beijing’s larboard projects successful Latin America and the Caribbean.

On a visit to Kingston successful March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, described China’s strategy arsenic being characterised by “predatory practices”, utilizing government-subsidised companies to “underbid everybody” and get assets.

The beingness of instrumentality from untrusted suppliers successful captious infrastructure passim the world, including ports, increases the hazard to US nationalist security, a State Department spokesperson said when asked astir Rubio’s comments.

A spokesperson for Jamaica’s ministry for overseas affairs and overseas trade said it had nary cognition of immoderate US connection oregon petition astir reducing China’s maritime power successful the Caribbean nation.

There was already some pushback against Chinese concern successful the portion during the archetypal Trump administration. “I suspect that there’s going to beryllium expanding unit from the US for us to backmost disconnected from immoderate expanding engagement with China,” said erstwhile Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who helped bring Chinese investments into the Caribbean country.

In the United States, meanwhile, COSCO has investments with section partners successful instrumentality terminals astatine the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The White House did not respond to a petition for remark astir COSCO’s US investments.

In Australia, US backstage equity steadfast Cerberus, which was founded by US Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg, has shown involvement successful buying the lease for Darwin Port, a elder enforcement of the port’s Chinese relation Landbridge said successful May.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to instrumentality the strategic bluish larboard to section ownership and reiterated during a visit to China successful July that the government’s presumption was very wide astir wanting Australian ownership.
Albanese’s bureau referred Reuters to his erstwhile comments.

Feinberg has not been progressive successful immoderate discussions oregon decisions regarding immoderate acquisitions his erstwhile institution whitethorn beryllium funny in, a US defence authoritative said when asked for comment.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers person been scrutinizing China’s larboard ownership since the extremity of President Joe Biden’s term, a US larboard authoritative acquainted with the substance said.

Speaking successful February, Carlos Gimenez, president of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee connected Transportation and Maritime Security, said: “America cannot, and will not, stand idly by while Communist China continues to undermine our interests astatine maritime ports.”

[Reuters]