On January 7, the US Department of Defense blacklisted China’s largest shipping company, Cosco Shipping Holdings Co. and two shipbuilding companies because of their connection to the People’s Liberation Army of China. About this informs Bloomberg.
According to the Pentagon’s definition, the companies “Cosco Shipping Holdings Co.”, “China State Shipbuilding Corp.” were added to the US Federal Register. and “China Shipbuilding Trading Co.”. Although the inclusion in the “black list” does not imply the automatic imposition of sanctions, it is a signal for American companies to refrain from cooperation with these structures.
China currently dominates the world’s shipbuilding industry, producing more than half of the world’s merchant ships. According to broker BRS, in the first quarter of last year, China accounted for about 60% of the world’s shipbuilding orders. Against this backdrop, the US is concerned about China’s growing influence in shipping and port infrastructure, which is becoming increasingly strategically important.
In addition to shipping companies, the latest version of the “black list” also included “Tencent Holdings Ltd.”, “Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.”, as well as the Chinese oil corporation “Cnooc Ltd.”
