Chinese logistics platform LOGINK, which US officials said could have become a tool for controlling global trade, is effectively withdrawing from the international scene. Its partnerships with foreign ports have been frozen, its participation in an international maritime organization has been terminated, and its Wenzhou hub appears abandoned.
LOGINK was created about 20 years ago in China’s Zhejiang province as a system for collecting and exchanging data from ports, transport companies and suppliers. Control of the platform was later transferred to China’s Ministry of Transport. The idea was to replace paper-based procedures and facilitate the movement of goods through a single digital system.
In 2010, China connected LOGINK with logistics information platforms in Japan and South Korea. Beijing later sought cooperation with European ports. In a 2015 presentation, the Chinese Ministry of Transport described the system as a single portal connected to global logistics networks.
Washington sees a risk to trade and security
American concerns intensified in 2022 when LOGINK joined an international project to exchange data between port platforms. According to a US commission, this would expand its cooperation with international ports.
A group of Republican congressmen, including current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urged then-President Joe Biden to take action. They warn that the uncontrolled expansion of LOGINK could allow the Chinese Communist Party to gain influence over the “arteries of global trade.”
Washington fears that the platform could collect non-public data on goods, volumes and prices that could help Chinese companies outpace Western competitors. It also points out the risk of tracking sensitive military supplies passing through civilian cargo networks.
“We will not allow a platform controlled by Beijing to gain control over global maritime data,” a US State Department official said.However, South Korea and Japan say the exchange has been more limited. According to the two countries’ transport authorities, the main information shared was the arrival and departure times of ships, as well as information about loading and unloading, but not the contents of the cargo. LOGINK representative Li Zhao stated in 2024 that the platform does not have the ability to collect sensitive commercial information or constantly monitor the movement of cargo around the world.
International retreat begins in 2024.
LOGINK's participation in the International Association of Port Community Systems ends in 2024 after non-payment of membership fees. The organization's director general, Inga Morton, confirmed that the Chinese platform is no longer a member, and the international data exchange project is suspended and not functioning.
At the same time, the LOGINK website disappears. The last archived copy is from June 2024. China also canceled a meeting with Japan and South Korea, scheduled for March of that year, citing "internal circumstances". No new meetings have been held since then, and Japan has lost access to the platform’s data and has been unable to establish contact with its Chinese partners.
Attempts to enter Europe have also failed. The 2017 agreement with the port of Sines in Portugal has not yielded any significant results. The memorandum with Portbase, the digital system of the port of Rotterdam, remains in preliminary discussions.
Lawsuits and an empty office
The trading company behind the LOGINK center in Wenzhou has faced at least 39 lawsuits since January 2024. The total value of the claims is around $1.3 million. Some of the cases are related to labor disputes, while others appear to be related to unpaid bills.
Among the plaintiffs is a local subsidiary of China Mobile, which filed a lawsuit in October 2025 over a dispute over a service contract. In May 2026, a dispute over the lease of the property where the platform’s center is located was also heard.
When I visited Wenzhou in September, the office was without lights, with an empty reception desk and computer cables removed. China’s Ministry of Transport did not respond to questions about LOGINK, but in June published a document calling for the system to be connected to more internal data flows. This suggests that Beijing has not completely abandoned the platform, but is shifting its focus from global expansion to domestic use.
Sources: reuters.com, straitstimes.com