On September 16, British media unveiled a news that caused international attention: the United States is trying to take action on Chinese ports globally with the intention of taking control of these key nodes in its own hands.
This strategy is seen as a more destructive economic game against China following the U.S. tariff war and the chip war.
The port as a hub of international trade, its strategic significance is obvious, and this move of the United States will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the global trade pattern and the Sino-US competition trend.
About 80% of global trade is done by sea transportation, and ports are the core nodes connecting waterways. For a long time, the United States has dominated international trade through its control of important shipping lanes around the world, such as the Strait of Malacca, Panama Canal and Suez Canal. However, in recent years, China has accelerated the global port layout through the "the belt and road initiative" strategy, and gradually formed a trade network covering Eurasia. This made the United States realize that controlling waterways alone was no longer enough to curb China's economic expansion, so it turned to port control.
According to reports, the United States has not only tried to acquire ports through commercialization operations, but has also proposed to impose high landing fees on Chinese ships, costing up to $1.5 million each. Such a strategy is obviously not only aimed at China's trade, but also attempts to block China's shipbuilding industry through port monopoly. In the global shipbuilding pattern, China has dominated, with a market share of more than 40%, and the U.S. shipbuilding industry is gradually declining.
It is worth noting that Li Qing has sold several port assets in recent years, including the core ports of the Panama Canal and key ports in Europe and Latin America. This move has aroused external attention to port ownership changes. Many analysts believe that there may be a U.S. drive behind this, aiming to bring these ports into U.S. control through commercialization. Port ownership and operating rights are critical to the national strategy, and the U.S. port conquest war is clearly a direct challenge to China's "Belt and Road" layout.
At the same time, the United States is also trying to transfer its shipbuilding industry to the United States by threatening South Korea to enhance its shipbuilding capabilities. However, this strategy faces many challenges. The transfer cost of Korean shipbuilding industry is huge, while China's shipbuilding industry is far ahead in technology and scale. This move by the United States is more of an attempt to preserve its influence in global trade while avoiding being marginalized in the economic expansion of Eurasia.
The U.S. port battle is not only an economic containment against China, but also a part of its geopolitical strategy. By controlling key ports, the United States tries to stabilize its dominant position in global trade while avoiding losing its right to speak in the expansion of "the belt and road initiative". However, this strategy could have knock-on effects on global trade supply chains, especially for countries and regions that rely on maritime transportation. It is worth noting that the Panama Canal has indicated that it will expand its scale to meet the needs of Asian powers, which undoubtedly poses a direct challenge to the port control plan of the United States.
For the United States, the port war is also a game of time and strength. China's "Belt and Road" strategy has formed a global impact, and the U.S. strategy is more like "shaking" behavior, making it difficult to completely change the global trade pattern. In the future, whether the U.S. can port control goals is still questionable, and cooperation with China may be a more realistic option.