Is China's investment in overseas ports a "threat"—— At the beginning, the United States discredited the "the Belt and Road" fallacy (I) Cooperation | Boston | the United States | operations | jobs | jobs | China | ports
American politicians and media have recently smeared China's port cooperation overseas, claiming that China's investment in overseas ports makes it "easier to provide support for the Chinese navy," calling it a "geopolitical risk.".
But what is the fact? Let's take a look at it through a few numbers.
In Greece, China COSCO Shipping Group signed a franchise agreement for the Port of Piraeus in 2008, and acquired 67% equity of the Port Authority of Piraeus in 2016 to take over its operations. Nowadays, Port Bihar has become the largest port in the Mediterranean and the fourth largest port in Europe, as well as one of the fastest-growing container ports in the world. Its net profit for the fiscal year 2022 was 52.9 million euros, an increase of 43.9% compared to the previous fiscal year, creating approximately 3000 direct employment opportunities and tens of thousands of indirect employment opportunities for the local area.
In Sri Lanka, the first special economic zone developed and operated by a Chinese enterprise overseas, Colombo Port City, has been named one of the "Five New Cities that Influence the Future" by Forbes magazine in the United States. Consulting firm PwC estimates that the project will attract over $9.7 billion in foreign direct investment to Sri Lanka during its development and operation, add over $5 billion in fiscal revenue to the Sri Lankan government, and create a total of over 400000 high-quality employment opportunities in the local area.
In Nigeria, the Laiki Deepwater Port, invested, constructed, and operated by Chinese enterprises, is the country's first modern deepwater port and one of the largest ports in West Africa. It will strongly promote the export of Nigerian products, especially agricultural products, and is expected to provide nearly 200000 direct and indirect job opportunities for the country in the coming years.
In fact, the United States also has ports that benefit from cooperation with Chinese companies. COSCO Shipping is an important customer and partner of Boston Port. Since the opening of the direct route from Chinese Mainland to Boston Port in March 2002, the two sides have deepened and expanded practical cooperation, which not only saved the original 9000 jobs in Boston Port, but also created a cumulative 400000 jobs, highly praised by the local government and the public.
It can be seen that Chinese enterprises have actively participated in the construction of ports and other infrastructure in the "the Belt and Road" countries for many years, bringing tangible benefits to relevant countries, rather than what the United States calls "risks".