U.S. warns IMO that China's maritime grip is a tool of coercion, not commerce

The contest for control of the world's shipping lanes has moved from strategic briefings into open diplomacy. At a session of the International Maritime Organization Council, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Warren Stephens accused Beijing of converting port concessions, commercial fleets and supply chains into instruments of political coercion. The statement arrives as President Donald Trump presses Denmark and NATO for U.S. control over Greenland, citing Chinese and Russian naval presence in the surrounding waters.

China's shipbuilding dominance sets the frame

Stephens put numbers behind the concern. China's yards now account for more than half of global ship production, and the country dominates the manufacture of ship-to-shore cranes and shipping containers. That concentration gives Beijing structural influence over the physical infrastructure through which cross-border trade moves. Stephens told IMO member states that when a country allows a foreign power or its proxies to control critical port infrastructure, it accepts a vulnerability rather than a commercial arrangement.

The U.S. Maritime Transportation System, Stephens said, supports $5.4 trillion in economic activity each year and sustains nearly 30 million jobs. Washington, he added, is "not a passive observer of maritime affairs."

The Panama test case

Stephens cited Panama as a concrete demonstration of the pattern. Panama's Supreme Court found CK Hutchison's port concessions at the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals unconstitutional. Those two terminals sit at opposite ends of the Panama Canal, one of the world's most consequential trade corridors. Beijing's response, Stephens said, was "swift and punishing": the U.S. characterized it as action against Panama-flagged vessels aimed at undermining Panama's sovereignty and disrupting global supply chains. Stephens told the assembled member states that what happened to Panama stands as a warning for every nation in the room.

Greenland and the Arctic dimension

The broader cycle of maritime competition extends into the Arctic. Trump, speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, said Greenland is "surrounded by China ships and Russian ships" and should come under U.S. rather than Danish control. Denmark has said it will defend the territory. Greenland's position between the Arctic and North Atlantic has made it central to U.S. security planning, and Stephens framed the Greenland push and the IMO remarks as parts of the same national priority: restoring American maritime leadership.

On balance, the read-through for global shipping is a policy environment moving toward open contestation. Stephens urged IMO members to scrutinize deals granting foreign state-linked enterprises operational control of port infrastructure, and said the U.S. will press for updated standards on polar operations, autonomous vessels and cyber risk management. The Chinese government has consistently rejected accusations of coercion, characterizing its port and Belt and Road investments as commercial partnerships that support global trade.