China's disappearing ships adversely affecting global trade as supply chains hit: Report

In what is being termed as “a headache” for the global supply chain, trade vessels in the Chinese waters have been shrinking, owing to deepening geopolitical spat between Beijing and the rest of the world, CNN’s Laura He writes in an opinion piece, cited by ANI on Thursday, Nov. 25. Laying down concerns about China's ‘growing isolation’ with the rest of the West, He says that the disappearance of the Chinese ships, which undoubtedly obstructs the global supply chain and are a victim of the “mistrust” of the foreign influence, is a huge setback for foreign trade and the global economy. 

This significant “drop off” in the Chinese shipping traffic was first noted towards the end of October, when Beijing enacted its data protection law, which took effect on November 1. The law was designed to protect the personal data of the Chinese and boost data security in China. The Personal Information Protection Law unravelled a comprehensive framework that regulated how Chinese firms -- both inside and outside China, were given the extraterritorial jurisdiction by Xi Jinping’s Chinese Communist Party government, including the cross-border transfer of data. 

China's Personal Information Protection Law, and missing trade ships data explained 

According to CNN’s analysts, the data companies are able to track down the foreign ships worldwide owing to a technology termed as Automatic Identification System, or AIS that acts as a transceiver reflecting information related to the vessels in the sea such as — ship’s position, speed, course and its name via a high-frequency radio to determine the vessels’ location. If, in case, the vessels sail out of range, this task is accomplished via a satellite that helps exchange such information. “That's not happening in the world's second-largest economy, a critical player in global trade,” He wrote, referring to the Chinese vessels. Further, she adds, that about 90% of trade ships from China over the last three weeks have disappeared, and there have been no signals recorded from its vessels, according to data from the global shipping data provider VesselsValue. 

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, told CNN Business that Beijing’s coastlines constructed in accordance with the rules transcribed in the international treaties have been shut down, ANI reported. It added that all AIS technology has been operating normally but shipping providers were losing access to data. The reason is not yet understood. China’s State Council Office did not respond to the query about the unexplainable trend about Chinese vessels’ missing from global waters. Even as China’s Personal Information Protection Law does not mention the ships, Laura He writes that the Chinese data providers may be blocking the vessel information as a ‘precaution’, as explained by AIS Network’s team leader Anastassis Touris to CNN. The firm deals in ship tracking information.