Fears that Chinese port investments make Spain and NATO ’vulnerable’

EURACTIV - China’s expanding footprint in Spain’s ports is raising concerns in Brussels and among security experts, who warn that commercial infrastructure near key naval facilities could one day serve military or intelligence purposes.

The concerns come as Beijing strengthens its presence in Spanish logistics hubs and prepares major investments, including a new SAIC factory near the Ferrol naval base in the northwestern region of Galicia.

The Chinese state-owned car manufacturing giant aims to build key facilities right on the outer grounds of the Port of Ferrol, home to one of the key headquarters of the Spanish Navy and national shipbuilder Navantia. The area also serves as a key strategic location for NATO operations.

One of the two SAIC complexes will be located right at the access point where Spanish military vessels enter and exit, including five F-100 frigates.

Alfonso Rueda, the regional president of Galicia from the conservative People’s Party (PP), confirmed the news in early June, more than a month after he travelled to China to lock down the deal. Rueda thanked Pedro Sánchez, the socialist prime minister, for his support, capitalising on the close diplomatic ties the Spanish leader maintains with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Several sites were offered to house the facilities, Rueda told reporters, but the Chinese firm ultimately chose the vicinity of the military port to build its first industrial complex in Europe, for which it expects to invest around €200 million.

Growing risks

While this type of industrial investment can boost local economies, create jobs, and revive regions, the situation in Ferrol is different.

According to Alberto Camarero Orive, a port security and logistics expert at Madrid’s Polytechnic University, Ferrol remains a highly sensitive strategic zone because of its naval facilities, Navy operations, and NATO ties.

“In a scenario of international crisis, geopolitical tension, or hybrid conflict, a port terminal can become a point of vulnerability,” he told Euractiv. A strict precautionary approach must be taken, he stressed.

According to Spanish reports, SAIC is already sending a logistics vessel to test the port’s infrastructure as early as July.

Ports are no longer seen as mere commercial facilities. Instead, they serve as strategic hubs for economic stability, energy security, supply chain logistics, military mobility, and national resilience. Foreign investment, particularly from China, Camarero noted, requires additional safeguards to avoid relinquishing “effective control over critical infrastructure.”

Chinese shipping giant COSCO has already established a major presence in the country, when it acquired in 2017 a 51% majority stake in Spanish container terminal operator Noatum.

The deal gave the Chinese firm major ownership of critical terminals in two key Spanish ports –Valencia on the eastern Mediterranean coast and Bilbao on the Atlantic – two inland rail terminals in Madrid and Zaragoza, and most recently, Tarragona, around 100km south of Barcelona.

Port expert Camarero notes that controlling key Spanish terminals helps Chinese companies plug into global shipping networks and secure their supply chains. It also boosts connectivity with Europe and provides valuable “bargaining power” over shipping lines, shippers, and regulators.

The Spanish defence and transport ministries, as well as the regional government of Galicia, did not reply to Euractiv’s requests for comments.

Moves in Brussels

To curb the growing influence of Chinese companies on Europe’s critical infrastructure, the Commission is preparing a series of guidelines – first teased in its EU Ports Strategy – to help capitals assess the influence of third countries on the control of port operations across the bloc.

The EU’s 27 transport ministers last week welcomed the Commission’s Ports Strategy, raising the need “to avoid undue foreign ownership or control of critical port infrastructures and operations.”

Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas also suggested a mechanism to monitor foreign direct investments in EU ports, although it is not yet clear when the instrument will roll out.

China’s rising influence over Spain’s critical maritime infrastructure comes as capitals and MEPs are discussing plans to ease the movement of troops across the continent.

While Spain sits on the southern part of Europe, its Atlantic and Mediterranean flanks could still offer entry points for military equipment into the continent.

Camarero warns of risks such as operational dependence, access to sensitive information on critical supply chains, and the ability to influence logistics flows, when handing over the management of port terminals to foreign entities.

Under the proposed text, capitals would have to identify strategic infrastructure – including ports – needed to move military equipment and troops across the bloc to inform future ‘basic protection and resilience measures.’

But MEPs are asking the Commission to develop a list of such measures within one year after the entry into force of the text.

“With this text on military mobility, our strategic infrastructure will no longer be able to rely on equipment purchased from unfriendly third-party suppliers or countries. As a last resort, member states will be able to regain control of key infrastructure for our military logistics,” French MEP François Kalfon (S&D), a shadow rapporteur on the text, told Euractiv.

MEPs and countries still need to finalise their versions of the text before they enter talks to reach a compromise.

Camarero stressed that “Spain and the European Union must maintain a balanced yet firm stance: attract investment, yes; transfer strategic control, no.”