The European Union is preparing new guidance to combat China’s increasingly concerning reach into the bloc’s critical maritime infrastructure, according to a Council document seen by Euronews.
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While the document doesn’t explicitly mention China, references to foreign investment screening, ownership of critical infrastructure, geopolitical threats and strategic autonomy leave little doubt about the underlying concern.
Chinese state-linked companies like COSCO Shipping hold stakes in major EU ports, including the Ports of Hamburg and Rotterdam in Germany, and the Port of Piraeus in Greece is often referred to as Beijing’s “gateway to Europe”.
The draft Council conclusions, proposed by the European Commission last December and due to be approved by transport ministers on Monday, reflect a profound shift in European thinking from treating ports merely as commercial gateways to viewing them as strategic assets that underpin supply chains, energy security and military mobility.
The nascent strategy “addresses competition with third countries and foreign ownership and strengthens logistics security”, reads the Commission proposal.
EU transport ministers will back declarations “aiming to avoid undue foreign ownership or control of critical port infrastructures and operations, including risks related to organised crime infiltration, especially those relevant for military mobility and the Union’s economic security,” according to the Council document.
China’s influence
For more than a decade, Chinese state-linked companies have been expanding their presence across European maritime networks, acquiring stakes in terminals and logistics assets from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. What once appeared to be a question of investment and trade is now increasingly viewed as a matter of security.
The Port of Hamburg deal was supported by former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz between 2021 and 2022, arguing that it would strengthen Germany’s trade position and maintain the city’s competitiveness as a major European port.
But several German government figures warned at the time that Chinese ownership of critical infrastructure could create economic and political dependencies similar to the country’s previous reliance on Russian energy, which left it badly exposed to price shocks when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
German MEP Jens Gieseke, spokesman for the transport and tourism committee in the European Parliament on behalf of the European People’s Party (EPP), has welcomed the Commission’s new proposal.
“China today holds stakes in more than twenty European ports – including the Port of Hamburg and the Port of Rotterdam,” he said. “The Port of Piraeus is even fully controlled by Chinese operators. This level of exposure in critical infrastructure cannot be ignored.”
EU leaders now appear concerned that ownership stakes in ports could translate into strategic leverage over infrastructure that has become increasingly important for both economic and military purposes.
At the heart of the Council document is a call for stronger scrutiny of foreign investments in ports, in particular the “intention to provide guidance on assessing foreign investment” in EU ports as well as “applying controls”.
Nonetheless, transport ministers are cautious not to spoil the “investment environment for European ports” and to “avoid deterring trustworthy investors”.
The geopolitical backdrop is hard to ignore. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and growing concerns over economic coercion have pushed European governments to reassess vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. Ports, which handle nearly three-quarters of the EU’s external trade, sit at the centre of those concerns.
The Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) has warned that the problem with the Port of Piraeus is not Chinese concession rights per se, which the think tank said “would be irrelevant in a state of war”, but Chinese-fitted commercial port infrastructure which could be used for intelligence gathering.
Expanding monitoring beyond EU ports
The Council’s draft conclusions also signal unease about foreign influence beyond EU borders.
Member states are calling for closer monitoring of investments in ports located in neighbouring third countries, warning that developments outside the EU can affect the competitiveness, security and resilience of European supply chains.
This reflects growing awareness that influence over maritime routes does not stop at the EU’s external frontier.
A port developed, financed or controlled by strategic competitors in North Africa, the Balkans or the Eastern Mediterranean could alter trade patterns and potentially reduce the importance of nearby EU facilities, the document warns.