“When a Hong Kong conglomerate set plans this year to sell its global network of shipping ports to an American-led investment group, two facilities in Panama got most of the attention.
But the real action is in Europe, where Chinese business interests have spent decades accumulating port holdings.
Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison agreed in March to sell more than 40 ports in 23 nations to an investor group led by American financial firm BlackRock, and the parties had aimed to reach a definitive agreement on the $23 billion deal at month-end. Now, Beijing is trying to carve out a stake for its giant shipping group Cosco, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Politics have hung over Hutchison's facilities at either end of the Panama Canal since it began operating them in the 1990s. The sales plan came together after President Trump's vow to bring the canal under U.S. control.
The most substantial impact on China's ambitions from the port deal might be in Europe, a continent crucial to Beijing's trade and diplomatic ambitions. Nearly half of the facilities on the block are in Europe or North Africa. Trump's trade tariffs, meanwhile, have Europe bracing for a deluge of Chinese goods that have been rerouted away from the U.S.
Shipping volumes of items including electric vehicles are already up in places such as Spain.
If the Hutchison deal goes through, the American-led investors would gain significant market share in a continent where the Chinese presence has grown large in recent years. Under the announced plan, BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners unit is buying the Hutchison ports with an investment partner, Italy's Aponte family, which runs giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and its Terminal Investment Ltd. unit.
Whether the deal goes through as planned or with Cosco's participation, China's port foothold in Europe would be concentrated under government-run companies similar to Cosco, which U.S. authorities consider a military-aligned enterprise. Exiting the region would be Hutchison, a private company controlled by the family of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, who hasn't always seen eye-to-eye with Beijing.
China accelerated port investments after outlining the Belt and Road Initiative to modernize land and sea trade routes. The change in control of a port can alter trade routes and indicate economic power, not least of all because fewer than 10 shipping groups including Cosco, Swiss-based MSC, France's CMA CGM Group and Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk move nearly all of the world's containers.
Ports with Chinese investment now dot the globe, according to a database produced by Zongyuan Zoe Liu at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
China's port-expansion strategy in Europe has primarily featured opportunistic acquisitions.
"The European ports are the best in terms of asset and infrastructure, of international importance for trade," said Liu of the Council on Foreign Relations, making them appealing investments.
Government-run China Merchants took one of the boldest steps in 2013, buying 49% of a port business called Terminal Link from CMA CGM for 400 million euros, at the time equivalent to $543 million. That gave China Merchants a minority share in a range of facilities, especially in Europe, and slivers in Miami and Houston.
In developing countries throughout Africa and Asia, and more recently in South American nations such as Peru and Brazil, China's government-run companies have established new ports. Some of the construction deals have saddled host countries with large amounts of debt and were designed as gateways to haul away mineral commodities.
Cosco itself first entered Europe as a ports investor in 2004 with a minority stake in a container facility in Antwerp, Belgium. Cosco then made inroads starting in 2008, buying a concession to run facilities at Piraeus, Greece -- south of Athens -- which it transformed into a world-class port.
Pertinent to today's situation, Valencia in the 1980s was quick to adopt containerized shipping -- crucial to spurring world trade -- and helped make China the world's top exporter for 16 years.
Beijing gained control of the Port of Valencia after Wall Street's 2008-09 financial crisis sparked major debt problems for corporate Europe, including for Spanish construction giant ACS Group.
In 2010, ACS sold its interests in the Spanish ports of Valencia and Bilbao, plus various logistics operations, to a group led by J.P. Morgan Asset Management for 720 million euros around $950 million at the time. As a private-equity investor with little interest in owning ports over the long-term, J.P. Morgan approached Cosco about buying, a former executive involved said.
Cosco agreed in 2017 to pay 200 million euros for 51% of the Valencia and Bilbao ports venture. Cosco called Valencia the natural port for Madrid and a "perfect strategic fit" for its plans at "developing a global terminals portfolio."
A spokeswoman for J.P. Morgan declined to comment.
A year after the deal Xi Jinping flew to Madrid to meet Spain's King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the first visit to the country for a Chinese leader in 13 years. He discussed the Mediterranean's role in his Belt and Road Initiative and pledged China would import goods worth $70 billion over the next five years. In fact, China's imports were closer to $45 billion in that period.
Today, Valencia sits in the middle of a European network of Cosco ports that includes some of the region's biggest, including Greece's Piraeus, Italy's Genoa, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Belgium's Zeebrugge and Germany's Hamburg.
As Cosco's own ships began calling at Valencia, the port emerged as a busier container facility than its vaunted Piraeus operation, last year handling 5.47 million TEUs, or shipping container equivalents, versus the Greek port's 4.22 million. Also huge on the Mediterranean are Spain's Algeciras and Morocco's Tanger Med ports, though they are still smaller than northern European ports.
Valencia now also ranks as the most connected port in the Mediterranean, based on its integration with container lines, according to a United Nations index.
"China is the largest trading economy in the world," said Liu of the Council on Foreign Relations and, "if you want to export more, you need the infrastructure."
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Chinese Business Interests Find Routes Into Spain
Spain illustrates how Chinese business interests expanded port holdings in Europe, and what happens now.
The southern European country was booming in 2006, when the government awarded Hutchison a contract to build and operate a new container terminal for the Port of Barcelona.
Hutchison -- which traces its origins to Hong Kong's own docks from the first days of 19th-century British colonialism -- began investing in European ports in the 1990s. Its European holdings span the U.K., the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and Poland, plus Spain.
The British managing director of Hutchison ports, John Meredith, called Barcelona "our key port in southern Europe."
The story was different with Spain's Port of Valencia in 2017, when a Chinese group took control. Cosco got 51% thanks to a Spanish debt crisis and U.S. private-equity investors, who were looking for a profit.” [1]
What about selling port Klaipėda to the Chinese? We, Lithuanians, don’t know how to do politics or business. We are sitting in a very smelly place right now. We need a professional care of our main assets in this age.
Lithuanian Politics
Democracy: Lithuania is a democratic country with generally respected political rights and civil liberties. It operates as a semi-presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system.
Challenges: Lithuania faces challenges common in many democracies, including public dissatisfaction with corruption and socioeconomic inequality. Certain groups, such as women, and ethnic minorities, experience varying degrees of underrepresentation and discrimination.
Improvements: The country has taken steps to improve its democratic processes, such as adopting constitutional amendments regarding elections. Transparency in lobbying and public procurement has also seen improvements.
Lithuanian Business
Economy: Lithuania has experienced rapid economic growth since joining the EU, with a projected GDP growth of 2.8% in 2025. .
Business Environment: Lithuania offers a favorable business environment with low corporate tax rates, transparent regulations, and access to the European Single Market. It has been recognized for its ease of doing business. This system is out of balance, since it leads to twice lower salaries for the same work as in Germany, low retirement income, bad universities (no good professionals), bad healthcare.
Innovation: Lithuania has a growing startup ecosystem, particularly in areas like biotechnology and life sciences. It has also become a fintech hub in Europe. Most startups are forever startups, just milking Western money.
Challenges: Some challenges remain, including a shortage of skilled labor, particularly in areas like nursing and engineering, and a comparatively small domestic market. Inefficiencies in the education system contribute to skills mismatches in the labor market. Attracting and retaining talent, particularly skilled professionals, remains a concern, with many choosing to work in other European countries.
Opportunities: There are opportunities in sectors such as Information and Communication Technology, Biotech, Metal Processing, Machinery and Electrical Equipment, and Financial Technologies. Lithuania's strategic location can also serve as a gateway to other Baltic and Eastern European markets. This is ruined by Lithuanian politics and warmongering. Trade with the East crucial in Lithuania for millennia is completely ruined, including trade with the factory of he world - China.
In conclusion, while Lithuania, like any nation, faces challenges, it has demonstrated resilience and progress in both politics and business since gaining independence and joining the European Union. The country has a functioning democratic system and a growing economy with significant potential if it changes the ruinous politics of the country.
1. World News: Port Collection Builds Up China --- Buying global stakes has helped fuel the nation's exports; connected in Europe. Areddy, James T; Kiss, Daniel; Li, Ming. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 21 July 2025: A9.
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