Report: China Becomes Leading Owner and Operator of Commercial Seaports WorldwideJohn Hayward 10 Nov 2023
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.
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https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/11/10/report-china-becomes-leading-owner-and-operator-of-commercial-seaports-worldwide/
