mapped out, so break as close as monita is on our website, the delta. com and our social media channels as well. the handle is at dw news until me or let it go. thanks for being with us. the we are all set and we are watching to see the to bring you the story behind the new will on about unbiased information for free might do too. and most of the stuff you buy crosses the world by see what shipping containers don't just total goods, they hold something else to power and china is all in. that's

why they've been investing massively in ports all over the world to china. probably have stakes and a port in the are you there creating a network and it goes beyond trade. this is a story about the promises, sprawling ambition and a plan to dominate the seas the but let start small. let's go to creepy and cameron. it's a coastal town known for its sandy beaches and fresh fish. now it's also home to a deep water seaport built by china just down the coast. this is what the coast by creepy looked like on satellite images about 20 years ago. not too much going on in 2011, a chinese state owned construction company started building the port with the help

of the camera and the and government. you can see how quickly it pops up here along with the highway that connects creepy to the rest of the country. china invested over $1000000000.00 to open the port in 2018. the idea as outlined in this promotional video, to turn creevy into a key trade hub for all of central in west africa, china promised fireworks and local, say, the port has certainly change things here. the product could be, uh, it'd been a month. yeah. okay. give it to me, my name is on the phone, said they should shave when money. see the quote. so that many people who did the physical up the street. i book without pause, i posted them and it isn't just creevy and cameron, china's port promise is attractive for governments. they lend you money, you hire

a chinese state owned construction firm. they quickly build you a port. and that connects you to a global trade kind of a patient. we certainly go to china, has that strong stay on the enterprises china. very efficient to kind of look at. so that's, that's basically the soft spring heat from time. that's one you way. he's director of the institute of international affairs at redman university of china in beijing . and is a former chinese diplomat. also a ton of each those months. and i think this mutual benefit and in return china promises not to get involved in your politics. no matter what. by the way, china's involvement isn't the same in every port. for example, it can vary from 100 percent ownership to a minority steak, but the pitch has been successful in the global south, especially in african countries, out of around 160 ports with china,

head steaks and $53.00 are on the african continent. now shooting the points you see on the bus, it could be a bit good. them this house that's good, that dom across the lot. but overall niles on golf. i left this yonder job or lead me out the 6. yeah. last shooting, the alaska at brewer says that there are some guys you some so some pulls, they said going through and how to key itself. we can um, offer it to a pallet be boxed, you don't do it. another reason why african countries might be wary of western investment is well, the last few 100 years of western colonialism. sure now far shoes, you go go book a board or the chinese. she finally said that parts in china to some good quantum about 5 and really good jobs by law central for now. china still calls

itself a developing country and says it's an equal partner, as opposed to the west. but china is deals with global south countries, still serve china's interests like increasing. because as we'll see, each of these ports is just one small part of a bigger strategy. the enter the belts and road initiatives by building roads, railways and seaports. china wants to connect the world and one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever can see you all young man. this young man, the man. when the belgian road initiative launched in 2013, it was initially suppose to connect china and europe. just like china's ancient

silk road they've facing now, china is tapping into markets in the global south sunday. so we need to find a new money for our time. and to those countries also be going to share the experience is kind of wondering as ation. like a tiny smoking coast, if you want to reach, go that route. here's the network. china has delta, the orange lines, or overland roads. the blue lines are maritime roots. in the last few years, china has increasingly expanded the maritime part of the network. and that strategy makes sense because remember, most traded goods across the world by sea, more than 80 percent these are the main routes they take. and these are some of the world's most vital choke points. ships with goods important to world tre, need to pass through here to get from one region to another. now take another look

at those ports. they give china pretty crucial access, which is important for the country as the world's biggest, ex porter. the real question uh to my mind has to do with whether or not these infrastructure projects that leave china and as the as the lender, as the builder, as an owner, as an operator accord them on do influence in foreign countries. this is isaac card and he's a china expert at the us based carnegie think tank. his research focuses on china's maritime power. there's use of economic coersion against trading partners that that's right. or actuality of withholding certain trade and the, the sort of control over the trading network itself helps gift china a bunch of different mechanisms by which it can accomplish that. meaning china has

gaines leverage over many countries. in 2022, china was accused of having used it in the u. n. human rights council. there was a proposal to talk just talk about chinese human rights violations against the countries weak or muslim minority in internment camps. here are the 47 countries in the council at the time these countries said yes to talking these countries said no. these upstate note that a lot of the african countries in the council voted know, china has invested in infrastructure projects in some of the countries that voted yes and all of the countries that voted no. the proposal was rejected. of course, it could have been a coincidence kind of interested increase because most of the rest of the complex, the, even the learn from time to learn tanny's is maybe to ask her for more like more time this model. and that's their choice. one thing is for sure,

china is involvement in ports. it's cementing a global network with political allies and trade ties. now that china has built that trade network, it's anxious to protect it. let's look at one of those key choke points we mentioned before. this narrow straight between africa and the radian peninsula is called by belmont at the suez canal is on the other end of the red sea here. around 12 percent of world trade usually passes through here. and you guessed it. china has a port here in the small country of 2 booty. china also has its only official for a naval base here, right next to the commercial port. it has stakes in china, said the reason for opening a base and your body is to secure a trade from piracy. and it's not the only country with the military base and you

booty. take a look at the by the way, the us space is around 13 kilometers from china space. but we'll get to that 5 over e later. so many countries are set up on the straight budget booty in part because of a tax like the most recently who's the rebels from yemen has been targeting commercial ships in the red sea. those attacks have been so intense that they changed global trade routes. many ships are now avoiding the red sea altogether and taking this much longer route to get to europe. along with russia, china reportedly even struck a deal with the who would fees to avoid their ships being hit. the un says disruptions to trade in general are increasing all over the world. a worry, especially for the chinese the country is not only a big ex border,

but also needs to import resources like oil and minerals to keep its economy running. there is a, there is a risk to china, off of the disruption of that network, and that, that would really cause significant problems for their economic models. and political rivalries could also lead to disruption. there is this perception in china that they're vulnerable to uh, to us sanctions, to us naval introduction, to other us efforts alongside allies, to essentially cut china out of the global trading system. so it's no surprise the giant container vessels aren't the only ships from china. is showing up at these ports now. meet the people's liberation army navy, the p l a n th,

the navy's official mission is to safeguard china's overseas interests that include securing trade between not just these like wal bravo and committed for you. also have news provided public news uh, security policies. in the last few years, china has been massively building up its navy. china can now rival the us in some important military capabilities and already has a larger fleet. if you only look at ship numbers and it's building even more plus, there has been rumors about potential new naval bases beyond your body for a while. the most likely spots for them are, you guessed it. some of the overseas ports china is involved in the us research lab, 8 data found week ports that they think could become chinese military bases within the next 5 years. remember creevy in cameroon? well, it's on the list in china is the port operator there. the port is deep enough to

harbor a big war ships. and china and cameroon, on good terms, politically and even without ports like creepy, officially becoming naval bases. the people's liberation army has made quite extensive use of this network of port facilities, all of the ports, and virtually any commercial for it is intrinsically a dual use. uh facility. because naval ships need some of the same things that any commercial ship does in particular fuel and water and food and the ability to, to rest their crews. and there's more the us as concern chinese involvement in ports could block or limit us commercial and military access to them. and the china is using ports to spy. like here at the port of holly fund in the united arab emirates, us intelligence set a new plan terminal. there was actually

a secret military facility. just to put the us accusations in context. china has 14 and military base. and the us as well see for yourself, the bigger the bubble in each country, the more us military bases there are there, the, we don't know how the use of this port network will ultimately play out. the us as watching warily as china expands into what they perceive as their backyard and latin america. one of the new ports chung chi input route. it will supposedly slash shipping times between south america and asia. a chinese shipping company will be the sole operator of the port, which is why us officials have repeatedly voice concerned about the projects. but china is port promise remains attractive around the world as they expand their port

networks. they're gaming new allies, willing to harvard, their ambition, the manually videos. i mean, i mean yeah, some of the other side. yeah. but i want to call me as well. may i ask the boss of those little who yes, i don't know how to go on medicare. that'd be, you know, within the last 2, this is the problem to go muscled. i mean being video symbol him to my base. i think my lot is i will st. louis on x real 1000 minutes. can you do that? let's go. yes, we can. so yes, and we're just really so be out of informing use is a tool for k, i mean i bought a, c, v vs to them. so one of them is assuming the whole scene to assessing them in your own. and they may notice him, but i think we is the advantage of throw. uh huh. and really doesn't explain that is was.