Abstract
This chapter focuses on the general study of Chinese investment in the European Union (EU) and, in particular, on the new interests involving Portuguese maritime assets. The European continent has gained strategic importance for Beijing in the sequence of the debt crisis and the Chinese political tensions with Washington. After a first wave of investment that went into the acquisition of assets in companies, the Portuguese government has sought to attract Chinese investment to facilities in Portugal. One of the main objectives is to extend the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to the “Portuguese Sea”, particularly the port of Sines or even islands in Azores. Some analysts have shown considerable concern by the fact that the Portuguese infrastructure’s control by China means sensitive security vulnerabilities for euro-Atlantic axis. The authors seek to assess the strategic value of Portuguese maritime assets and evaluate the interests and geopolitical variables included in this framework.
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Notes
- 1.
The 16 + 1 initiative joins EU, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria; as non-members, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
- 2.
UK—42.2 thousand million euros; Germany—20.6 thousand million euros; Italy—13.7 thousand million euros; France—12.4 thousand million euros; Netherlands—9 thousand million euros.
- 3.
EDP—China Three Gorges, 23.27%—2.7 thousand million euros, CNIC, 4.98%; Fidelidade—Fosun acquired 85% for 1.1 thousand million euros; BCP—Fosun holds 27.06% through a subsidiary in Luxembourg; Luz Saúde—Fosun (through Fidelidade) acquired 96% for 489 million euros; REN—State Grid acquired 25% for 390 million euros and Fosun holds 5.3% (through Fidelidade); BESI—bought by Haitong Bank, 379 million euros; EDP Renováveis—CTG acquired 49%, 368 million euros.
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da Silva, J.T., Pereira, R. (2020). China and the Portuguese Atlantic: The BRI’S Last Puzzle Piece. In: Leandro, F., Duarte, P. (eds) The Belt and Road Initiative. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2564-3_16
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