Ports in a storm: Chinese investments in Europe spark fear of malign influence
- Cosco stakes in Belgium’s two largest shipping ports and one in Germany renew scrutiny of Chinese ownership of critical EU infrastructure
- The company’s assembling of such stakes makes governments less willing to speak out against China when necessary, analysts say
Earlier this month, Belgian officials were visited by furious Chinese diplomats who warned that negative comments from the country’s foreign minister could jeopardise bilateral trade.
They demanded that Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib retract interviews she had given to local media, in which she described Beijing as “a potential enemy”, according to a diplomatic cable seen by the South China Morning Post.
Lahbib had been asked about an academic report on Chinese investments in Belgian port infrastructure, titled “Every Ship a Warship”.
The report, written by Brussels-based academic Jonathan Holslag, raised alarm about the “growing politicisation and militarisation of China’s civilian maritime sector”.
State-owned China Ocean Shipping Company, better known as Cosco, owns minority stakes in the Antwerp and Zeebrugge ports on the North Sea coast, a fact that Lahbib said she was uncomfortable with.
“I believe above all that in the current context, our eyes are turned to China, which is a partner, a rival and a potential enemy,” Lahbib said. “Civilian ships are being modified to potentially become military ships. We have to think about it and be very careful.”
Her comments struck a nerve. Wu Gang, minister-counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Belgium, demanded a meeting with Belgium’s top official for Asia.
