20190327 CHINAUP MAIN

Chinese President Xi Jinping's wooing of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has infuriated the U.S. (Nikkei montage/Getty Images)

China's Belt and Road descends on Europe, in Iron Curtain fashion

Italian port city of Trieste is the latest flash point in a battle for hegemony

TOKYO -- Across China, big signboards are being raised to promote one of President Xi Jinping's recent favorite political slogans. It calls for mankind to build a "community with a shared future."

Proudly displayed behind the words is a photo of the Greek port of Piraeus, near Athens, and the many Chinese ships calling there. Piraeus was acquired and is operated by state-owned China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, or Cosco.

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