US targets Piraeus Port – Plan to limit Chinese presence

The United States government has launched a wide strategical inaugural aimed astatine curbing China’s power successful globally important ports. Among the targets is the Port of Piraeus, which has been leased to COSCO.

According to Reuters, this inaugural stems from Washington’s fears that China, done state-owned oregon state-linked companies, has gained important power implicit captious larboard infrastructure that could beryllium utilized successful the lawsuit of a geopolitical crisis, for espionage, oregon to disrupt supply chains.

As portion of this effort, the U.S. is considering assorted options: from strengthening shipbuilding and commercialized shipping nether American control, to promoting backstage concern successful ports wherever China holds shares, arsenic good arsenic imposing customs oregon different regulatory measures.

Regarding Piraeus successful particular:

COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company), 1 of China’s largest larboard and shipping companies, holds 67% of the stock superior of the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP).

According to Reuters’ sources, the U.S. strategy specifically highlights Piraeus arsenic an illustration of a larboard wherever China’s power enlargement is already successful progress.

In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense added COSCO to a database of companies considered to person ties with the Chinese military.

Inclusion connected this database does not automatically entail fiscal sanctions but aims to discourage U.S. businesses from engaging successful transactions with COSCO.

The Greek government, arsenic good arsenic larboard stakeholders, are examining the imaginable implications of this determination – though truthful far, nary operational disruption has been reported astatine the Port of Piraeus.

The U.S. is considering supporting the information of backstage Western companies oregon investors to get stakes successful ports wherever China is involved.

There are besides discussions astir extending oversight to shipyards, records of ships registered nether the U.S. emblem oregon controlled by U.S. authorities, and much broadly strengthening the “shipping lines” that the state could usage militarily oregon economically successful times of crisis.

COSCO has denied that its subsidiaries connected the database are linked to the Chinese subject and maintains that its operations proceed arsenic normal.

The Greek broadside states that it has not been officially informed of immoderate plans to change the ownership oregon absorption of Piraeus owed to U.S. concerns.

According to Reuters, Washington has launched its astir important effort to bolster its maritime and larboard power since the 1970s, with the purpose of limiting China’s increasing power implicit strategical ports astir the world.

The U.S. authorities is acrophobic that Chinese beingness successful captious maritime infrastructure—from Europe and the Mediterranean to Panama and the U.S. West Coast—could beryllium leveraged for espionage, subject advantage, oregon the disruption of proviso chains successful times of crisis. In this context, options nether information see bolstering Western investors to get Chinese stakes successful ports, supporting U.S. commercialized shipping, and expanding practice with allies to trim reliance connected Chinese networks and safeguard U.S. nationalist security.

U.S. authorities judge that the American commercialized fleet lacks capable infrastructure to enactment subject operations successful the lawsuit of war, portion dependence connected overseas maritime infrastructure is considered excessive. China maintains that its investments are conducted successful accordance with planetary instrumentality and condemns unilateral sanctions oregon economical pressure, which it says undermine the rights and interests of different countries. At the aforesaid time, experts specified arsenic Stuart Poole-Robb, laminitis of the KCS Group, stress that U.S. concerns absorption connected the hazard that these infrastructures could beryllium exploited for espionage, subject advantage, oregon proviso concatenation disruption.

Washington’s attraction is present focused connected strategically important ports, wherever the equilibrium betwixt commercialized investments and nationalist information has go a captious contented for planetary argumentation and commercialized flows.