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Report: China Becomes Leading Owner and Operator of Commercial Seaports Worldwide | |
2023-11-12 | |
[Breitbart] The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) released a report this week that found China has become a leading power in operating seaports across the globe, as well as “the world’s largest trading country and second-largest economy.” China owns or operates a seaport on every continent except Antarctica and, at last count, it had stakes in 92 active seaport projects. “Chinese President Xi Jinping’s launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 and the introduction of the Twenty-First Century Maritime Silk Road, which connects China to Europe and the Arctic Ocean via the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, have supercharged China’s overseas port investment and construction activities,” CFR said. Interestingly, China became a dominant port power without becoming a major naval power, at least not yet. The Communist tyranny developed “significant geoeconomic influence over international sea-lanes and commercial ports underpinning the global flow of goods” without building many naval bases outside its borders. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has certainly grown large enough for force projection. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) reported last month that China now has “the world’s largest navy, with a battle force of more than 370 ships and submarines,” including three aircraft carriers and three amphibious assault ships. China’s air force is also “rapidly catching up to Western air forces,” according to U.S. officials. China’s network of overseas ports is impressive, but its domestic ports are nothing to sneeze at. China runs some of the world’s largest and busiest container ports, led by Shanghai, which has been the world’s most active port for 13 years running.
The report authors thought it was “inconceivable” that China could get away with docking warships at the Port of Los Angeles, even though the facility is physically capable of handling them, although after watching California Governor Gavin Newsom’s obsequious conduct during his recent trip to China, the word “inconceivable” might not mean what CFR thinks it means. CFR thought increased Western scrutiny and the “de-risking” movement, in which more foreign money is pulling out of China than dictator Xi Jinping anticipated, might prevent China from using its massive port network to project military influence. Beijing could, however, “influence global trade and logistics” in various ways by controlling so much of the world’s port capacity. “China’s leverage is in its varied degrees of investment and ownership in the world’s busiest and most-connected ports, which underpin the global flow of goods,” CFR concluded. The United States and China’s regional rival India are beginning to take steps to curb Beijing’s port dominance. On Wednesday, the U.S. announced $553 million in funding for a port terminal in Sri Lanka’s capital city of Colombo, to be developed by Indian tycoon Gautam Adani. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), an agency established in response to China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said the port project would boost Sri Lanka’s economic growth and enhance its “regional economic integration, including with India.” “It is a high priority for the U.S. to be active in the Indo-Pacific region. It is obviously the engine of economic growth for the world,” said DFC chief executive Scott Nathan. Nathan said DFC’s loans would help Sri Lanka “expand its shipping capacity, creating greater prosperity” without “adding to sovereign debt.” This is a vital consideration, as Sri Lanka was driven into bankruptcy and political chaos by massive Chinese loans for dubious Belt and Road infrastructure projects. China infamously seized one of Sri Lanka’s ports in 2017 after the BRI client state defaulted on its BRI loans. Related: Belt and Road Initiative: 2023-11-04 From Hamas to Iran to China: Follow the Money Belt and Road Initiative: 2023-10-18 Reps from 130 countries descend on Beijing for Belt and Road forum Belt and Road Initiative: 2023-09-27 Former Iraqi PM: Iraq allocates over $10 billion for ''Iraqi-Chinese framework agreement'' in tripartite budget | |
Posted by:NoMoreBS |
#7 At what point would the investment become unprofitable, and how close are they to that point? It doesn't matter if a port is profitable or not in the CCP's 'long game'. They still have control of the trade there. They've been buying up terminals and ports since the 1970's. There was some concern then, but that was largely ignored. |
Posted by: Mullah Richard 2023-11-12 14:22 |
#6 If the cranes on the docks are hacked and can’t operate your harbor operations stop abruptly. Where are the cranes electronics manufacturered? Closed ports require diversions to operational ports. Just saying … |
Posted by: Griter Slash1619 2023-11-12 12:27 |
#5 WebOct 16, 2019 · U.S. forces COSCO to sell U.S. terminal to get Chinese government out of ownership of the Long Beach Port. |
Posted by: Jerens Black9355 2023-11-12 11:01 |
#4 You can own a Dock/Port, but if the Dockworkers Union decides not to work or unload certain ships, it won't happen. The days of unskilled dock work are over. |
Posted by: Frank G 2023-11-12 07:06 |
#3 The docks at Portsmouth was once the home of the "Navy that ruled the waves." |
Posted by: Besoeker 2023-11-12 03:57 |
#2 Americans can't do the math. |
Posted by: Skidmark 2023-11-12 02:43 |
#1 China became a dominant port power without becoming a major naval power China now has “the world’s largest navy ??????????? |
Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-11-12 01:41 |