U.S. aims to target China's grip over global ports with sweeping maritime missions

According to three sources who are familiar with the plan, U.S. president Donald Trump's government is on a quest to weaken China’s global network ports and bring in more strategic terminals to Western control.

This is part of an ambitious effort by the United States to increase its maritime influence. It is also designed to alleviate growing concerns in Washington about being at a disadvantage in the event of conflict with China.

The people said that Trump administration officials believed the U.S. Commercial Shipping Fleet was ill-equipped to support the military during wartime and Washington's dependency on foreign ports and ships is excessive.

Three people have said that the White House may consider supporting Western or American firms to purchase Chinese stakes at ports. The three people did not name any firms, but cited BlackRock's proposal to buy CK Hutchison's port assets in 23 countries including Panama Canal as a good case study.

They asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.

Requests for comments from the White House or U.S. Treasury were not answered.

Sources say that, in addition to Panama, U.S. officials are also concerned by Chinese holdings of maritime infrastructure, including in Greece, Spain, the Caribbean and U.S. West Coast Ports.

A spokesperson for the diplomatic mission of China in Washington stated that China has a normal level of co-operation with foreign countries within international law.

The spokesperson stated that "China has been against unilateral sanctions, which are illegal and unjustified. This includes so-called long arm jurisdictions and actions that violate and undermine the legitimate rights and interest of other countries through economic coercion and hegemony.

Beijing officials did not reply to our request for comment.

The U.S. Government views Chinese investments in ports around the world as a threat to national security, said Stuart Poole Robb, founder and chief intelligence officer of KCS Group.

He said that he was concerned about China using its assets to espionage or gain a military advantage, or disrupt supply chains in times of geopolitical crisis.

GREEK PORT IN CENTRAL FOCUS

Three sources confirmed that the U.S. will examine Chinese interests in the Greek Port of Piraeus. Piraeus, located in Athens in the eastern Mediterranean region, is an important hub for trade routes linking Europe, Africa, and Asia.

COSCO, one China's largest port and shipping group, owns 67% of the Piraeus Authority.

Sources close to Chinese shipping investors in Greece have expressed concern that Washington could target COSCO operations in Greece.

COSCO and Greek government have not responded to comments. Greek officials previously stated that they were not informed of any plans to take control of Piraeus.

Washington has already set COSCO as a target.

In January, the Department of Defense included state-owned COSCO on its blacklist of Chinese military-linked companies. The designation does not entail immediate bans for U.S. businesses doing business with the listed companies, but it can be interpreted as a sign that further actions are being considered.

The Development Research Center of the State Council (an official think-tank of China’s governing cabinet) said in a recent paper that the United States intended to attack China’s international influence through exaggerating the ‘China threat theory’ and use this excuse to force allied countries to choose sides in supply chain agreements.

The U.S. Administration has announced measures to increase America’s small commercial maritime presence in the world. This includes encouraging domestic shipbuilding. It also wants to expand access U.S. controlled shipping registries and review global maritime chokepoints to assess shipping risks.

China has a vast network of ports that it owns or leases through its state-controlled companies, such as China Merchants in Shanghai and SIPG.

A report by the Council of Foreign Relations (a U.S. think tank) published last year stated that China, through its various companies, had invested in 129 ports projects around the world as of August 2024.

According to U.S. Navy estimations, China's shipbuilding capacity is 230 times greater than that of U.S. shipyards, so it may take decades for the U.S. to catch up.

The U.S.'s maritime push has contributed towards tensions between the U.S. and China, who see port and shipping assets integral to their Belt and Road initiative. This is at a moment when both superpowers have already been at odds over trade and tariffs.

MEDITERRANEAN GATEWAY UNDER REVIEW

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission began a review in March of seven chokepoints on the maritime route. It stated that it wanted to identify "regulations, policies or practices" that create unfavourable conditions for shipping.

This review examines the Strait of Gibraltar which separates Spain and Africa at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea.

Two sources claim that the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's desire to strengthen trade relations with China has caused Washington to be concerned about Beijing's access its ports.

When asked to comment on Chinese port investments, a spokesperson for the Spanish Foreign Ministry said: "We do not know of any concerns or approaches from third parties in this regard and it is therefore not appropriate for us comment."

A spokesperson for the Spanish Port Authority confirmed that COSCO holds concessions to operate container ports in Valencia and Bilbao.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has taken a number of steps to increase U.S. power over the oceans.

In April, he signed an executive directive to revitalize shipbuilding capacities to expand the U.S. controlled vessel fleet.

His administration is looking at a proposal for a new shipping registry to be established in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This registry would allow vessels to fly a U.S. flag without meeting the more stringent standards of the U.S. domestic registry.

The U.S. will soon start charging Chinese-built or Chinese flagged vessels fees when they call at U.S. port.

Trump also wants to seize the semi-autonomous Danish Greenland territory, which is close to the Arctic and has important shipping routes.

Sources familiar with the plans say that this is the most ambitious attempt by the U.S. since Richard Nixon tried to boost domestic shipbuilding, commercial ship registry and U.S. maritime power.

Poole-Robb, a KCS analyst, said that the U.S. will likely continue to build alliances and partnerships in order to counter Chinese economic growth and power in the near to medium term.

CARIBBEAN SHIPMENT CONCERNS

According to three sources, the United States is also concerned about Chinese investments in Jamaica's Kingston Terminal, which is a major maritime transhipment hub for the Caribbean because of its location and deep water port facilities.

China Merchants owns a share in the company that operates Kingston's container port, along with France's CMA CGM. JISCO, a Chinese metals company, bought the Alpart refinery west of the capital and Port Kaiser in 2016.

According to a June study by the Center for Strategic & International Studies, China's presence at Kingston posed the biggest security threat for the United States of all Beijing port projects in Latin America & the Caribbean.

On a visit to Kingston in March, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, described China's strategy as being characterised by "predatory practices", using government-subsidised companies to "underbid everybody" and acquire assets.

A State Department spokesperson responded to Rubio's remarks by saying that the presence of untrusted equipment in critical infrastructure around the world, such as ports, increased the risk for U.S. security.

Jamaica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade spokesperson said that it was unaware of any U.S. communication about the reduction in China's influence on the Caribbean nation's maritime trade.

During the first Trump administration, there was some resistance to Chinese investment in the area.

Bruce Golding, former Jamaican prime minister who brought Chinese investment to the Caribbean nation, said: "I expect that the U.S. will increase pressure on us to reduce our engagement with China."

COSCO, on the other hand, has invested with local partners at the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, the United States. The White House has not responded to a question about COSCO's U.S. investment.

A senior executive at the Chinese operator of Darwin Port said that the U.S. firm Cerberus in Australia, founded by U.S. deputy secretary of defense Stephen Feinberg has expressed interest in purchasing the lease.

Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, has promised to return the strategic port in the north to Australian ownership. He also reiterated this position during his July visit to China.

Albanese's Office referred to Albanese’s previous comments.

A U.S. official of defense, when asked to comment on the matter, said that Feinberg had not participated in any discussions or made any decisions about any acquisitions in which his former company might be interested.

Since the end of the term of President Joe Biden, Democratic and Republican legislators have scrutinized China's ownership of its ports. A U.S. Port official who is familiar with the issue confirmed this.

Carlos Gimenez said in February that the United States cannot and will not stand by as Communist China undermines our interests at ports.

(source: Reuters)