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Cosco Shipping has been designated as a Chinese military company by the Pentagon, in another sign of intensifying tension between China and the U.S. The U.S. Department of Defense published its annual listing of companies linked to China’s People’s Liberation Army on Tuesday, adding state-owned Cosco and two of its subsidiaries to the Federal Register. Tim Hinckley, a former chief commercial officer at fulfillment solution provider Radial who now heads up his own supply chain consultancy, Hinckley Associates, posted on LinkedIn that the Cosco blacklisting raises national security concerns and could lead U.S. companies to shift away from engaging with the shipping giant. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS), Cosco moved 39.68 million TEUs to and from the U.S. in 2024, with the majority of cargo originating from China, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.