China’s State-Owned Cosco To Buy Stake In Another European Port
November 2, 2022—Greece may be a pioneer and champion of democracy, but in the business of trade it owes a great deal to communist China. In fact, its largest port, Piraeus, is owned by a Chinese state-owned shipping company called Cosco Shipping.
That’s the subject of a fine piece of reporting by Kaki Bali for Germany’s DW, called “In Greece’s Largest Port of Piraeus, China Is The Boss.”
Bali looks at the implications on trade and geopolitics as China’s Cosco buys up ports in Greece, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and Brussels. Noting the modernization of the port and jobs, Bali treats the story with a fair lens. At the same time, she notes the strategic importance of the port to China’s interest and the loss to Europe. Namely, the port of Piraeus “is now directly dependent on a third country, namely China,” she writes.
Greek Debt, Chinese Cash
As Greece’s stability caved in to massive debt, European creditors and the IMF offered assistance in exchange for strict economic reforms. But Greek voters said “no.” China was waiting warming in the wings with buckets of investment cash. What’s more, Chinese investors weren’t demanding strict austerity. They merely wanted control.
In befriending Greece with its cash, Chinese investors not only purchased a stake in the economy, they also secured a friendly voice at the table in NATO and European Union meetings.
Debate In Germany Over Hamburg Port
The story is of particular interest to Germany where Cosco is buying a $2.7 billion minority stake in a terminal in the country’s largest port in Hamburg. Germany’s Cabinet approved the deal last week in a decision that, according to Reuters, “triggered unprecedented protest within the governing coalition.”
China’s Global Times hailed the Hamburg port deal as one that “injects stability into bilateral relations and strengthen the supply chain.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pushed for the deal. His foreign ministry opposed it. Now, the coalition government that promised to put values first in foreign policy is being put to the test. It appears it is on the brink of failing.
Globalization Or Not, That Is The Question
Today, as the world spins to a new geopolitical reality where war rages and supply chains regroup, business decisions matter.
Wise finance and geopolitical watchers might be talking more about globalization-in-reverse, otherwise known as “decoupling.” Even so, the free world is growing increasingly entangled with communist command.
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