GENOA, Italy -- Ship-to-shore cranes tower high above choppy waters and colorful containers on the Ligurian coast of northern Italy. Sailors coming in to dock are greeted with a smorgasbord of transportation industry names and logos, from Denmark's Maersk to Taiwan's Evergreen. Harder to spot is COSCO, the jewel of China's maritime business, which owns a 40% stake in the cutting-edge Vado Port System at Vado Ligure.
The facility is one of at least two dozen European hubs in which Chinese companies own stakes. Many of these investments dovetailed with Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its drive to build infrastructure stretching from Asia to Europe and Africa, deepening its own influence along the way.
