Mapping China’s global port network: on the backfoot in 2024, but still well entrenched

China’s activities in European container port infrastructures have been making headlines since 2016, when state-owned shipping company COSCO took over the legendary Piraeus port in Greece. Last year, the German government’s decision to allow a COSCO minority stake investment in a Hamburg port terminal stirred controversy. Til today, Chinese companies remain important players in European port infrastructures.

MERICS experts have, in the last months, taken a closer look at China’s global footprint in critical maritime infrastructure: Clark Banach, Program Director at the Aletheia Research Institution and former MERICS Futures Fellow, and MERICS Lead Analyst Jacob Gunter have collected data on and covered the latest developments related to China’s global port network. In their analysis, they shed light on the aims behind China’s efforts in this sector, as well as implications for Europe.

Banach and Gunter base their analysis on a substantial data collection, of which we share the key findings in a detailed and interactive map. Users can pinpoint a port and access information on how China’s involvement in the facility has evolved and what kinds of contracts are in place.

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