House Passes Olszewski’s Bipartisan Bill to Protect American Ports from Chinese Infiltration

May 23, 2025
Press Release
(Washington, DC) – The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation introduced by Congressman Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) to check Chinese control and influence at ports around to the country. The Strategic Ports Reporting Act – which is Congressman Olszewski’s first bill to cross the finish line in the House – now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
The bill responds to China’s increasingly aggressive efforts to build, buy or own strategic America ports and port infrastructure for its own military and economic interests. In his remarks on the House floor preceding the vote, Congressman Olszewski cited the FBI’s discovery of intelligence-gathering equipment aboard a vessel delivering a crane to the Port of Baltimore. The cranes were manufactured by a Chinese state-owned company.
“The Port of Baltimore – and all strategic ports – are economic lifelines for our communities and our country,” said Congressman Johnny Olszewski. “China knows this and is aggressively seeking to infiltrate and exploit our port infrastructure. We cannot leave these actions unmonitored and unchecked, which is why I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan solution to better safeguard America’s national security and economy.
Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) joined Congressman Olszewski in introducing the Strategic Ports Reporting Act. Companion legislation has also been introduced in the U.S. Senate, led by Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ). 
“The Chinese Communist Party continues to advance economic and military objectives that undermine the security of the United States,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “The expansionist policies and strategic investments being pursued by the Chinese Communist Party near the Panama Canal, across the Western Hemisphere, and around the globe are challenges that Republicans and Democrats must confront together in order to put American interests first. The Strategic Ports Reporting Act creates a bipartisan opportunity to not only evaluate these growing concerns but counter them as well.”
Specifically, the Strategic Ports Reporting Act will provide an analysis of:
  • The activities and plans of the PRC to expand its control over global strategic ports.
  • The U.S. national security and economic implications of PRC-controlled strategic port.
  • The measures the U.S. government could take to ensure open access and security for strategic ports and offer alternatives to PRC investment in these ports.
Background:
As a companion to the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Maritime Silk Road to take a dominating stake in the global economy. As of September 2023, China has signed 70 bilateral and regional shipping agreements with 66 countries and even has investments in critical ports in the United States.
For example, in 2019, COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned multinational conglomerate, started developing a $3.6 billion deep-water megaport in Chancay, Peru, which COSCO will reportedly have exclusive rights over. Inaugurated in November 2024, goods can now travel from Chancay to Shanghai in less than 3 weeks, significantly reducing travel time and creating a significant opportunity for the PRC to expand its market presence in the Western Hemisphere. This is the largest deepwater port on the Western Coast of South America.
Moreover, the PRC manages ports at both ends of the Panama Canal. In 2016, China-based Landbridge Group acquired control of Margarita Island, Panama’s largest port on the Atlantic side, and inside the Colón Free Trade Zone, the largest free trade zone in the Western Hemisphere. On the Canal’s Pacific outlet, Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Port Holdings serves as the operator for the Port of Balboa, Panama. This is on top of a host of Chinese investments around the critical chokepoint for the Western Hemisphere.
The likelihood of the PRC leveraging its port infrastructure in the future to affect the flow of goods globally remains a significant challenge for the U.S. While many of these investments are portrayed as commercial relationships, the PRC’s global reach is cause for concern as many of these ports have the potential to be used for military purposes.
 
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