Lobal port expansion
Western nations’ security concerns groundless
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COSCO Shipping said it will cooperate with the Abu Dhabi Seaport Authority to raise the throughput of the port and build it into a logistics hub and shipping center serving the Middle East and North Africa. Eventually the goal is to advance it into the largest port in the Middle East, with throughput of 9.1 million TEUs, read a statement sent to the Global Times by COSCO Shipping.
Chinese companies have spent tens of billions of dollars in recent years to purchase stakes in global ports, but this has also raised eyebrows in the West over alleged security concerns.
Li said such comments about the BRI have never ceased, and they reflect more of a loss of confidence in face of rapid advance of BRI around the world, including many regions still considered by the West as its sphere of influence.
“The recognition of partners and the efforts toward win-win development will in time drown out the criticism,” Li said.
Wu said concerns over port ownership are ill-informed, and “a diversification of port ownership has been the norm of the global shipping business since at least the 1990s. The ownership change at Europe’s ports is market-driven.”
“Chinese shipping companies invest in overseas ports because they have clients and cargo demand out there that back up their investment decisions,” Wu said.
“Even if the Chinese pull out, Western firms are unlikely to substitute due to market factors.”
For instance, about 25 percent of traffic handled by the Port of Rotterdam is related to China, according to the Rotterdam Partners International Trade & Investment.
Wu said that amid rising competition faced by players in the shipping sector, having ownership of ports in key geographic locations is a big factor. That’s why Chinese shipping companies have invested actively around the world.