China's Growing Access to Shipping Data Worries U.S.

"China's expanding grip on data about the world's cargo flows is sparking concern in Washington and among industry officials that Beijing could exploit its logistics information for commercial or strategic advantage.

Even cargo that never touches Chinese shores often still passes through Beijing's globe-spanning logistics networks, including through sophisticated data systems that track shipments transiting ports located far from China. Control over the flow of goods and information about them gives Beijing privileged insight into world commerce and potentially the means to influence it, say cargo-industry officials.

With ports clogged globally and shortages plaguing many industries, shipping data has become an enormously valuable commodity.

Foremost among China's cargo-data systems isLogink, a digital network that links shippers internationally and describes itself as a "one-stop logistics information service platform."Logink says it draws on a mix of public databases and information input by more than 450,000 users in China and at dozens of giant ports world-wide, including across the Belt and Road initiative, China's trillion-dollar international infrastructure project, and as part of what Beijing calls the Digital Silk Road.

Logink's international reach highlights a field critical to the world economy where the West lags behind China. Digitization of cargo data has been a dream of shippers for years.

Developed since 2007, not-for-profitLoginkis overseen by China's Ministry of Transportation. Its growing links to overseas ports and logistics networks are starting to draw attention in Washington.

Logink's window into global trade "could give the data holder a treasure trove of intelligence of national security and economic interest,"said Michael Wessel, a commissioner on Congress's U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which last week launched a study ofthe system.

"It should be a much higher concern than it has been," Mr. Wessel said.

The Defense Department sends military equipment via commercial ports world-wide. A spokesman for its logistics arm, Transportation Command, said that through Belt and Road, "China is seeking to enhance its visibility into the global supply chain, including U.S. military logistics." The spokesman didn't comment directly onLogink.

Logink and the Chinese Ministry of Transportation didn't respond to questions about the system.

Officially called the National Public Information Platform for Transportation and Logistics, Logink grew for years inside China, benefiting from the economy's scale and aggregating cargo data and financial information from shipping, trucking and manufacturing companies. In 2010 Logink began to form partnerships with ports around Asia, promising faster trade flows. More recently it has linked with Belt and Road ports and cargo-data systems in Europe and the Middle East.

Logink's ability to share information internationally "serves the 'One Belt One Road' national strategy," according to its website, "and has become a 'Chinese window' for China to integrate international logistics information exchange and sharing." China is expanding its window into world cargo flows as global access to ship-location information in Chinese waters has plunged because ofa new data-privacy lawthat took effect in November.

Concerns aboutLogink are similar to those around Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp.: They all carry other parties' data that Chinese authorities could exploit to China's benefit or to the detriment of thosewho communicate over the networks. By crunching data crossing Logink, China could spot and exploit shortages, gluts and trends before others do, say industry officials. "The most obvious risk of Logink is that it can help Chinese companies grow faster because of its data insights," said Mees van der Wiel, a business consultant at Portbase, the digital data network of the Port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest port." [1]

 If Landsbergiukas dreams that we will transport goods around the world and secretly sell them to China, let him not be deceived - China sees everything, who transports what from where and to where.

1. Banking & Finance: China's Growing Access to Shipping Data Worries U.S.
Michaels, Daniel. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 21 Dec 2021: B.11.