By Gloria Ogbonna
ATHENS, Greece — While much of the global spotlight remains fixed on the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, broader geopolitical concerns over critical sea lanes and shipping routes are increasingly shaping international strategy.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, maritime dominance has once again become central to U.S. foreign policy — particularly in its intensifying rivalry with Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party.
Beyond Hormuz, waterways across Europe, Asia, and Latin America are now seen as key pressure points in the contest for global influence. That competition is expected to take center stage during Trump’s planned visit to Beijing in May. But in the eastern Mediterranean, a quieter yet highly consequential struggle has already been unfolding — one that Greek officials say has shifted momentum away from China and toward the United States.
At the heart of that shift is Greece’s Elefsina shipyard, located just 12 miles from the Chinese-controlled Port of Piraeus. The port of Piraeus has been operated by COSCO, a Chinese state-owned enterprise formally known as China Ocean Shipping Company, since Beijing expanded its footprint there during Trump’s first term. In 2019, Xi visited Greece and described Piraeus as China’s “dragon’s head” in Europe — a symbolic declaration that the port represented a major gateway for Beijing’s Belt and Road ambitions.
Adonis Georgiadis, Greece’s current health minister and vice president of the ruling New Democracy party, recalls that period vividly. At the time, he was serving as Minister of Development and Investment when COSCO expressed interest in acquiring the Elefsina shipyard — one of the last major Greek maritime assets not under Chinese influence.
Georgiadis has said he viewed the potential sale as a turning point. With Greece still recovering from years of economic crisis, Chinese capital was often the only bidder available for distressed assets. But Georgiadis feared that allowing Beijing to control both Piraeus and Elefsina would cement China’s dominance over a crucial European maritime corridor.
Seeking alternatives, Georgiadis reached out to then-U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt. That outreach ultimately led to discussions with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a Trump-era institution designed to channel American investment into strategic global projects.
Initially, Greece was not eligible for DFC funding because it was not classified as a developing country. But after sustained diplomatic engagement — including meetings involving then-Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Trump at the White House — Congress amended the DFC’s mandate to include Greece.
The result was a U.S.-backed investment in Elefsina that offered Greece a viable alternative to Chinese ownership. Though progress slowed during the Biden administration, the project regained momentum following Trump’s return to office. The DFC ultimately committed $125 million to support the shipyard’s redevelopment, turning it into what Greek officials now describe as both a strategic and profitable American investment.
U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle has publicly framed the Elefsina initiative as a direct counterweight to Chinese expansion at Piraeus. Speaking at the Nisyros Dialogues event in Athens, she emphasized that Greece represents a front line in the contest over maritime infrastructure.
Greece’s geographic position amplifies its importance. Often described as a crossroads between East and West, it serves as a gateway for goods moving from Asia into Europe. Greek-owned vessels transport roughly 25 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas, underscoring the country’s outsized influence in global shipping. With Piraeus now ranking among the largest ports in the European Union, control over adjacent infrastructure carries far-reaching implications.
Chinese officials have criticized U.S. efforts to expand influence in Greece, characterizing them as interference. Yet Washington views its involvement as part of a broader strategy to safeguard supply chains and counter Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative — China’s global infrastructure program aimed at strengthening trade routes and expanding geopolitical leverage.
The rivalry extends well beyond the Mediterranean. In Panama, COSCO recently scaled back operations following legal and political disputes over port management near the Panama Canal.
Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers continue to warn about China’s deepening partnerships with countries such as Iran and Venezuela, arguing that control of strategic waterways is increasingly intertwined with broader security concerns.
Sen. Tom Cotton has argued that maritime chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz are vital to maintaining an American-led international order. He has expressed concern that adversarial regimes, sometimes with Chinese backing, could use control of such waterways to disrupt global trade.
Against this backdrop, Elefsina represents more than a local economic development project. For both Washington and Athens, it symbolizes a recalibration of influence in a region where Chinese investment once appeared unstoppable. Greek officials argue that by establishing a viable American-backed alternative to Piraeus, they have created competitive balance in a sector central to global commerce.
Whether that balance endures will depend on the evolving dynamics between the United States and China. But as maritime routes regain prominence in global strategy discussions, Greece has emerged as a pivotal arena — one where infrastructure, diplomacy, and geopolitical rivalry converge on the high seas.
Source Breitbart
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