Piraeus focus of fresh US-China spat over control of ports

Comments by the US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, have led to a fresh spat with China over the control of major ports.

It focuses on the port of Piraeus in which China's state-owned shipping giant COSCO first secured a container terminal concession before, in 2016, acquiring a 67% stake in Greece’s biggest box traffic facility at the height of the country's debt crisis.

While the US has long run the rule over foreign port ownership, it has been given fresh momentum under Donald Trump’s leadership.

In a bid to strengthen national security, his administration has stepped up the targeting of China's growing influence in global ports with the aim of bringing more strategic terminals under Western control.

The White House justifies such actions by arguing that the US has become far too dependent on foreign ships and ports which would represent a strategic risk in the event of military conflict.

The options the Trump administration is considering include supporting private US or Western firms to buy Chinese stakes in ports.

In March, came an announcement that a group of investors headed by U.S. private equity giant BlackRock, in association with Switzerland-based shipping line, MSC, had put in a bid estimated $22.8 billion to acquire 43 ports, in 23 countries from Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison. 14 are in Europe.

The number includes two ports near the Panama Canal which President Trump alleges are under Chinese control.

‘Very important to have American infrastructure here’

Last week, Guilfoyle, a former Fox TV presenter, told a Greek TV channel that China's state ownership of the Port of Piraeus, was “unfortunate”, going onto to suggest it could be got round.

It was “very important to have American infrastructure here to help support the region. To perhaps, in fact, enhance output from other ports and areas to balance against the Chinese influence with the port of Piraeus,” she said.

Guilfoyle is also reported to have added that “something could be worked out, whether you pursue a path of enhancing output in other areas or perhaps that Piraeus could be for sale”.

Other media reports highlighted her suggestion that China’s current influence in Greece might be counterbalanced by greater U.S investment in other strategic infrastructure projects in the country such as the development of a new port in Elefsina, which could “evolve into a logistics hub for the region.”

Neither the US Embassy in Greece nor the State Department have reacted to Guilfoyle’s comments.

‘Cold War mentality’

Unsurprisingly, the remarks drew an angry response from the Chinese Embassy in Athens who accused the US of attempting to undermine its relations with Greece.

In a statement on the X platform, it said that they constituted the “malicious defamation of the normal Sino-Greek commercial cooperation and a serious interference in Greece's internal affairs.”

It went to underline China’s “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the remarks which were “permeated with a Cold War mentality and hegemonic logic, contravene the fundamental professional ethics of a diplomat and fully reveal the insidious intent of the United States to serve its own geopolitical interests by exploiting the Port of Piraeus and even Greece itself.”

The statement also hailed the Chinese investment in the port as a successful model of co-operation between the two countries.

“In the current period of rapid development for the Port of Piraeus, the United States, with selfish intentions, is inciting Greece to terminate its contractual obligations and sell the port—this practice is a typical example of imposing its own thinking on others and reveals a mentality that seeks to undermine stability,” it added.

‘Only ones who submitted a bid’

As for the Greek government, it has strongly defended its move to open up the port’s capital to Chinese state interests.

“The port of Piraeus was handed over to the Chinese during the financial crisis in Greece, as they were the only ones who submitted a bid,” a Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. “Greece respects the agreements that have been conducted in the past.”

Success story for the port

Controversial COSCO’s majority stake may have been, but with volumes tripling since its CS Ports subsidiary took over, the transaction has been nothing but a success story for the port.

Almost a decade on, Piraeus is beyond doubt far better-equipped and more modern than it would have been if it had remained under state control. It has also enhanced the Greek economy’s international connectivity and contributed significantly to putting Greece firmly on the map of international trade.