In their latest port study, PortEconomics co-directors Peter de Langen and Thanos Pallis examine the leverage [defined as ‘capacity to influence’] that countries develop over others through international investments of their State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in ports and maritime logistics.
Seaports serving international trade are pivotal connections between national economies and the world, and critical nodes in global logistics networks. Influence in a foreign port is a potential source of geopolitical leverage. SOEs have long been active in ports, shipping, and logistics, and attention to their impact has increased due to the accelerated involvement of SOEs, in particular Chinese ones, in ports worldwide.
▶️ The study details the roles of internationally active SOEs in three relevant activities: shipping, terminal operations, and port management and development and constructs a framework for assessing the conditions under which SOE activities in a host country create leverage for the home country of the SOE.
▶️ It then applies this analytical framework in a case study of the presence of a Chinese SOE (COSCO) in Piraeus, Greece. The case study concludes that COSCO’s activities in Piraeus do give China leverage over Greece. The findings call for further assessments of whether, and if so, how home countries of SOEs develop and exercise leverage to achieve their geopolitical objectives.
▶️ The full study is published in the esteemed scholarly journal Journal of Transport Geography and is freely available (Open Access thanks to HEAL-Link Greece) – Enjoy the reading:
More about the study
Better ports improve logistics performance, driving growth of seaborne trade and contributing to economic growth. This impact is especially substantial for developing countries (Munim & Schramm, 2018). Ports, as critical nodes in global logistics, are also potential sources of geopolitical power. Several countries actively shape port development in overseas countries to enhance their role in international trade or status as economic powers. Thus, studies examining ports from a geopolitical perspective are steadily expanding, with expansive infrastructure projects regarded as forms of geopolitical activity that transform the context for geopolitical decisions. Some even argue that ‘port power’ influences the world order.
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) play an increasing role in ports, as shipping lines, container terminal operators or port management bodies (PMBs). Foreign state ownership of container terminal operators is common. SOEs account for approximately 35-40% of global throughput. The largest SOEs in port logistics are COSCO (China; the largest terminal operator by TEU volume), PSA International (Singapore; 3rd), DP World (Dubai; 4th), and China Merchants Port (CMP) (China; 7th). States with majority shares in terminal operating companies also include South Africa, Germany and Indonesia. The expanding global presence of state-owned terminal operators from the Middle East (i.e., Abu Dhabi Ports, DP World, ASYAD-Oman, Q Terminals – Qatar) also points to a reversal of the convergence towards a ports and shipping industry dominated by private enterprises.
Port management bodies (PMBs) are often embedded in the public sector or domestic SOEs. However, some national governments have delegated port management and development to private port companies, including foreign SOEs investing overseas. Examples include the UK, Greece, India, and Mozambique.
The extended involvement of SOEs increases the relevance of geopolitics in the evolution of the global port system. It raises critical regulatory questions, specifically whether – and under what circumstances – overseas SOEs should be treated differently from private companies.
Attention to ports in foreign policy has further increased due to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has accelerated the country’s involvement in ports and terminals worldwide. This involvement in foreign ports is primarily taking shape through SOEs activities. COSCO has invested in ports in 16 countries, and CMP in nine countries. These two SOEs handle approximately 24% of the global annual TEUs throughput. Liu’s (2024) list of 129 international port projects with deep Chinese involvement had increased to 138 by May 2025, of which 113 were part of the BRI. BRI aims to strengthen China’s global connectivity and has triggered ‘global connectivity’ initiatives from the European Union (EU) and the US – the Global Gateway and the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, respectively.
There is growing consensus that the ‘naïve’ argument asserting that the foreign activities of SOEs are no different from those of fully private companies needs to be reconsidered. This is because the overseas activities of SOEs may advance the geopolitical goals of their home countries, thereby expanding the influence those home countries can exert over the host country’s economy,
This study provides a framework for assessing the conditions under which States can create geopolitical leverage [defined as ‘the capacity to influence another party to achieve particular results through the threat of or the imposition of consequences on that party’] through SOE activities in foreign ports. Attention to leverage is necessary to fully understand the implications of the growing international presence of SOEs in ports and maritime supply chains.
This analysis focuses on the home State’s ability to use SOEs to influence the host country to advance its own interests. No attempt is made to assess whether home States have exercised this leverage. Furthermore, the likelihood that a home Country would use its leverage is also not addressed. The objective is to clarify the conditions under which a home country gains leverage vis-à-vis the host country through SOE activities in ports and maritime logistics.
This framework offers a construct for a broader understanding of the geopolitical impact of international investments by SOEs.
The sudy then applies this framework to one of the most illustrative cases of Chinese investments in European ports: the port of Piraeus, Greece, where a Chinese SOE (COSCO) has been the leading container terminal operator since 2008 and the owner of the port managing entity (PPA SA) since 2016.
