Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden announced 24/7 day and night operations in Port of Los Angeles after similar measures were taken in Port of Long Beach. Together, the two ports cover about 40 percent of the containers entering the United States. As the holiday season approaches, the expanded port operations are aimed at tackling the global supply chain as well as helping to alleviate the growing backlog of shipping vessels that have extended ashore to San Diego. Freight ports at U.S. ports not only did it contribute to fears of inflation but also brought renewed attention to the important role of the maritime industry in the global economy.
Considering that 90 percent of the world’s landmass travels across the ocean to reach its destination, the value of the maritime industry will not be underestimated. Historically, global naval control has been a major focus of economic and military art. Since the Discovery Period, maintaining reliable access to the world’s waterways has been recognized as a major national source of energy.
In 1616, English statesman Sir Walter Raleigh declared, “Everyone who controls the sea controls trade; whoever controls the world trade controls the wealth of the world, and therefore the world itself. Centuries later, one of America’s most famous 19th-century military strategists, Alfred Thayer Mahan, echoed this sentiment. In his 1890 magnum opus, “The Influence of the Sea in History, 1660-1783,” Mahan argued that the size of the country was directly related to controlling the world’s oceans, with the benefits of trade in times of peace and strategic benefits in times of war. In particular, Mahan emphasized the importance of strategic areas such as exits, petrol stations, canals and ports.
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With this in mind, the growth of Chinese investment in the maritime industry, both internally and externally, should be a major source of concern for political competitors like the United States. In addition to the growing collection of ports, China is the world’s leading producer of transportation shipping, producing 96 percent of the world’s shipping boxes, 80 percent of the world’s offshore, and receiving 48 percent of the world’s shipping orders. 2020. China boasts the world’s second-largest commercial shipping port and, according to the US Office of Naval Intelligence, has now surpassed the United States as the world’s largest naval base in terms of total naval capacity.
All of this serves as an indicator of China’s status in terms of strength and elasticity. Focused within much of the 20th century, China’s economic interests continue to grow significantly beyond its borders. China’s growth in the maritime trade over the past decade has been significant. For Chinese officials, however, this development is not only the result of fortune-telling, but also the result of careful planning and strategy.
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New Economic Strategy
In a 2013 speech at the University of Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan, Chinese head of state and General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping first announced plans for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This multi-billion dollar investment strategy, comprising three continents and nearly 60 countries, is designed to strengthen regional integration and cooperation while positioning China as a key intermediary between regional trade routes. It has been promoted by members of the Chinese government, including Xi, as the “New Silk Road.” Some scholars have suggested that the same approach is followed by the United States Marshall Plan, which promoted economic restructuring in Western Europe after World War II, in addition to deepening economic ties and bringing Europe closer to U.S. interests.