China is financing ports all over the world. What does it mean for the countries it deals with, and for the rest of the world?
In this repository, you will find the methodology, data and code behind two stories that came out of this analysis.
- DW.com: What Pakistan's Gwadar port shows about the Belt and Road Initiative
Pakistan's Gwadar port was meant to be a shining success. But almost two decades later, it still sits empty. What does this tell us about China's BRI investments worldwide?
Read the full story on DW.com: EN | DE - Mapped Out: China's Port Plan.
Maritime shipping networks are crucial for world trade. As the world's top export nation, China has invested in ports across the globe. But access to sea routes is about more than just trade.
Watch the full video: Youtube
These file Database.xlsx contains the data our analyses are based on, as well as a complete list of sources used.
Some important data sources are:
- AidData's China's Official Seaport Finance Dataset 2000-2021 was, among other sources, used to identify ports financed by China
- ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic provided data on the number of arrivals logged in relevant ports
- Maritime research service Drewry provided information on the container throughput of relevant ports
- The AEI China Global Investment Tracker was used to compare Chinese spending on BRI projects over time
- The World Bank International Debt Statistics were used to analyze external debt to China
Additionally, we refered to:
- Aiddata: Harboring Global Ambitions (2023) for the locations of possible future Chinese military bases
- Quincy Institute Brief #16 (2021) for a list of US military bases abroad
- Azeem Khalid, COMSATS University Islamabad
- Jacob Mardell, n-ost, formerly Mercator Institute for China Studies
- Athanasios Pallis, University of Piraeus
- Ryuichi Shibasaki, University of Tokyo