China is ramping up acquisitions of overseas ports as it expands its reach as a maritime power, doubling its investments in port projects over the past year to $20bn and pushing ahead with plans to open new shipping routes through the Arctic circle.
The locations of the ports set for Chinese investments cluster around three “blue economic passages” that Beijing named in June as crucial to the success of “One Belt One Road”, a grand scheme to win diplomatic allies and open markets in around 65 countries between Asia and Europe.
A study by Grisons Peak, a London-based investment bank, found that Chinese companies have announced plans to buy or invest in nine overseas ports in the year to end-June in projects valued at a total of $20.1bn. In addition, discussions are underway for investments in several other ports, for which no value has been divulged.