Posted on 10/08/2019 4:00:00 PM PDT by jazusamo
Under a long-term deal sealed by the Obama administration, a Chinese Communist company was set to control the second-busiest container port in the United States. In an unreported Trump administration victory, the Communists are out after a drawn-out national security review forced a unit of China-based COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. (Orient Overseas Container LineOOCL) to sell the cherished container terminal business, which handles among the largest freight of imports into the U.S.
It all started with a 40-year container terminal lease between the Port of Long Beach in southern California and Hong Kong. The Obama administration proudly signed the agreement in 2012 giving China control of Americas second-largest container port behind the nearby Port of Los Angeles. One of the Trump administrations first big moves was to get the Communists out of the Port of Long Beach. After a national security review and federal intervention, the Long Beach terminal business, which handles millions of containers annually, is finally being sold to an Australian company called Macquarie Infrastructure Partners. That essentially kills Chinas decades-long contract with the Obama administration.
The deal never should have been signed in the first place considering the facilitys size, significance and the national security issues associated with a hostile foreign government controlling it. The southern California port is the premier U.S. gateway for trans-Pacific trade, according to its website, and handles trade valued at more than $194 billion annually. It is one of the few ports that can accommodate the worlds largest vessels and serves 140 shipping lines with connections to 217 seaports around the world. The facility encompasses 3,200 acres with 31 miles of waterfront, 10 piers, 62 berths and 68 post-Panamax gantry cranes. In 2018, the Long Beach port handled more than 8 million container units, achieving the busiest year in its history.
Removing Chinese Communists from this essential port is a tremendous feat and a huge victory for U.S. national security. Youd never know it because the media, consumed with the impeachment debacle, has ignored this important achievement. The only coverage of the finalized transfer is found in Long Beachs local newspaper, which published a brief article omitting important background information on the Trump administrations work to take back the terminal from the Communists. The story makes it seem like a regular business transaction in which a Chinese state-owned company, reached a deal to sell the terminal, one of the busiest in the port, for $1.78 billion. The piece also quotes the Port of Long Beachs deputy executive director saying that the transaction process was intricate and involved one of our most valuable port assets. Buried at the bottom of the article is a sentence mentioning that the U.S. government, which regulates mergers for antitrust and security reasons, stepped in and required COSCO to sell its rights to the container terminal.
In the last few years China has bought cargo ports throughout the world, including in Latin America, the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Chinese-owned ports are located in Greece, Italy, Spain and other European locations. In sub-Saharan Africa there are dozens of existing or planned port projects funded or operated by China, according to a study that highlights the threat the Chinese investments present to U.S. influence in the region. One troubling analysis points out that COSCOs commercial expansion has created leverage for Beijing leverage that has already resulted in countries that host COSCO ports adopting Chinas position on key international issues.
That’s gonna put a damper on China’s human trafficking business!
WOW!!!
Tagline.
another wowzer from the trumpster.
what’s next? repatriate the panama canal from chinese control??
Thank God we have Donald J. Trump as President.
That’s a reasoned question.
This sort of thing subjects the port authorities to a high level of coercion and blackmail, to allow contraband to pass through.
We always think of bribe money, but there are much higher levels of pressure, such as family members under threat.
You’ve got a diametrically opposed ideology that wants to replace you as the major player globally, and you give them the tools to do it. It just hasn’t made sense since day one, this trade and related issues.
I remember well that Freepers were outraged in 2012 when Obama the Traitor gave our port away.
I lived on an island off Seattle at the time and was well aware that INS was always finding Chinese illegals in those seagoing freight cars. And piles of weapons. We wondered how in the heck they could monitor the millions of containers coming in. THEN, with China running Long Beach, there was no hope.
Astute comment. I remember watching people play GO. Mind boggling.
WOOhooo! So much winning.
Now lets get the Panama Canal back from the ChiComs!
Was worth a double post. I’ll never forget.
Yes, let’s get the Panama Canal returned to our control. China has been moving to checkmate deliberately, slowly, out in the open. South China Seas is their most recent move. Only the weakness of the West in its Hamlet-like self-immolation over 50 years is to blame for our adversaries making these moves.
Thanks. Me either...
PING!
roger effin that
TRUMP PENCE 2020!
This is a massive win.
Chicoms currently....
torture and harvest organs from “prisoners” including dissidents and religious minorities (Uighurs and Christians)
bulldoze graves of said minorities for some reason or other
torture and eat dogs after skinning them alive
engage in forced abortions
That’s just a few
How is it that anyone supports them? Politics, sports, business, anything?
BTTT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.