Competitiveness and Geopolitics of Port Corridors”

The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the link between corporate and state strategies and the resulting consequences for global value chains. In this context, we will examine the role of port corridors, with a particular focus on port strategy, in the light of the Chinese "Belt and Road Initiative," a project fraught with both great promise and high levels of geopolitical tension. In today's maritime and shipping landscape, the effectiveness of global value chains is often hampered by the decisions taken by companies to mitigate short-term problems and risks (inflation, breakages, delays, etc.), which seek to modify their supply chain strategies and organization in order to make them more secure. These transformations of global value chains could be driven by China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), ambitious plans to establish global connectivity and co-operation across six major economic corridors. By offering new opportunities for sourcing or setting up activities closer to consumption areas or new markets, the structuring of these new economic corridors may allow companies to reduce certain risks, which have been accentuated by recent and current crises and geopolitical tensions. This situation demonstrates the need for greater cohesion between public policies and the strategies of companies, particularly those whose activity is closely linked to national sovereignty. The objective in this case is therefore both to secure the strategic sectors and to improve national competitiveness, which involves making territories more attractive. In the face of this challenge, major seaports not only have a critical role to play in integrating territories in these new global value chains, but they must also consider developing activities that can help make their existing supply chains more secure.