Source: AidData CPORTS Dataset.
Chinese investments in port projects since 2000 are geared to reinforce its global connectivity and access to strategic resources and markets. Totaling about 24 billion USD in the form of loans and grants from state institutions, these funds were allocated to about 168 ports for the construction of port infrastructure and the purchase of equipment such as cranes. Further, about one-third of these investments involve either port ownership or operation by a Chinese state enterprise.
This geopolitical strategy can be framed in five main security objectives:
- Food security. Provide access to key food sources, including fishing and grains. Ports such as Santos and Paranagua in Brazil provide access to substantial soybean supplies.
- Mineral security. Several port investments are enabling access to strategic mineral resources, particularly copper (Lobito, Angola; Chancay, Peru) and iron (Morebaya, Guinea). China’s presence in West Africa is particularly significant.
- Energy security. Access to petroleum and natural gas is one of China’s core strategic goals. Its most important investment (1.4 billion USD) was undertaken in the Port of Sabetta on the Russian Arctic as an LNG export platform. Ports such as Newcastle and Wiggins Island (Australia) are major coal exporters of strategic importance to supply Chinese power plants and steel mills.
- Economic security. China’s commercial objectives include access to gateways to major markets and transshipment hubs for container shipping connectivity, such as Colombo (Sri Lanka), Piraeus (Greece), and Valencia (Spain).
- Military security. The ability to maintain military ports of call, including Dolareh (Djibouti) and Ream (Cambodia), may allow China to expand its capability to project naval power near strategic chokepoints such as Malacca and Bab el-Mandeb.