China has invested more than $60 billion building ports around the world, from Tanzania and Australia to Nigeria and Peru, dwarfing similar investments by any other country. Dominating global trade infrastructure through ports, shipping, highways and rail is a central pillar of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. And it’s paying off, with a network of ports providing strategic advantage amid rising global trade tensions.
But this unparalleled influence is also sparking security concerns. Some 14 ports with Chinese majority ownership have been identified as having potential military uses, a fact that has the rest of the world, and particularly the US, concerned.
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