The Chinese state-run platform LOGINK, which Washington regarded a few years ago as a potential tool for controlling global logistics data, has seen its international standing plummet. A Reuters investigation has uncovered suspended partnerships, unpaid bills, legal disputes and an operational office in Wenzhou that has effectively been abandoned. The exact reason for the system’s decline is unknown, but its decline coincided with an active US campaign against the spread of LOGINK beyond China’s borders.
- LOGINK was established as a Chinese government platform for the exchange of global logistics data.
- The US had warned that the system could give Beijing access to strategic information about global freight flows.
- Reuters has uncovered suspended international projects, legal disputes and LOGINK’s abandoned operational office.
- Washington has been urging its partners and international organisations to limit their cooperation with the Chinese platform.
What is LOGINK and why did China develop the system?
LOGINK — an abbreviation for the National Transportation and Logistics Public Information Platform — was created as a unified digital infrastructure for logistics. The idea seemed appealing: instead of paper documents and dozens of incompatible systems, ports, customs authorities, carriers and logistics companies could exchange information via a single platform.
The system could potentially have received data on the movement of goods, routes, customs clearance and the operations of transport companies. The project began as a regional Chinese initiative, and Beijing subsequently began promoting it abroad. By 2022, LOGINK had collaborated with more than 20 ports worldwide and a number of international companies.
Why did the US describe LOGINK as a threat?
In Washington, there were fears that a much greater strategic opportunity might lie behind the convenient logistics service.
The US Commission on Economic and Security Review in US-China relations Back in 2022, she warned that state control over LOGINK could potentially give the Chinese authorities access to information about freight routes, their value, volumes and final destinations.
Particular concern was raised by the possibility that information on US military logistics might find its way into the system. A significant proportion of military cargo is transported via ordinary commercial transport networks. Therefore, access to a global database of logistics data could, in theory, help to track individual military shipments, including aid routes to Ukraine or Taiwan.
It is in this context that American politicians have begun to speak of the risk of Beijing developing a kind of «trade superweapon».
Reuters discovered an abandoned office and deals that had fallen through
Four years on from those high-profile American warnings, the situation looks quite different.
Reuters spoke to more than 20 representatives of the shipping industry and officials, and examined court documents and the history of LOGINK’s international partnerships. The journalists found that several key international projects had effectively ground to a halt. The platform has also withdrawn from an international maritime organisation and is facing internal legal claims over unpaid bills.
In September, a Reuters journalist visited LOGINK’s operations centre in Wenzhou, China. The office looked deserted: the lights were off, the reception area was empty, and the computer cables had been removed. LOGINK did not respond to the journalists’ phone calls or emails.
Has the US effectively halted LOGINK’s global expansion?
Reuters has been unable to identify a single specific reason why the system lost its international momentum so abruptly. However, the timing coincides with Washington’s campaign. For years, US officials have been warning allies, ports and international organisations about the risks of using the Chinese platform. US representatives have also urged partners not to integrate LOGINK into critical transport infrastructure.
Randall Schreiber, who chairs the US Congressional committee that previously investigated LOGINK, told Reuters that Washington had, in effect, employed tactics of public pressure against those who had cooperated with the system. For the US, LOGINK’s withdrawal is a significant outcome of the wider competition with China for control over the technological infrastructure of global trade.
China has not abandoned the use of LOGINK within the country
The Chinese Ministry of Transport has not responded to a query from Reuters regarding the current status of LOGINK. However, the Chinese authorities are continuing to develop the regulatory framework for transport data and the digitalisation of logistics within the country. In 2026, the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China also tightened regulations on transport data security.
Back in June, the Chinese ministry called for additional domestic data sources to be connected to LOGINK. In other words, whilst international expansion may have come to a halt, the system itself – as part of China’s transport infrastructure – has not necessarily been phased out.
LOGINK denied the US allegations
In 2024, a representative of LOGINK Li Zhao In a letter to the Office of the US Trade Representative, he stated that the platform lacks the capability to collect confidential commercial information or to continuously track global cargo flows.
The Chinese side has also not published a complete list of the types and scope of data that passed through LOGINK. This is precisely why some of the conclusions drawn by US officials relate to the potential risks of access to information, rather than confirmed widespread use of LOGINK for espionage.
Why LOGINK’s history is important for global trade
Maritime transport accounts for approximately 80% World Trade, whilst data on what is being transported, from where, to where and in what quantities, is gradually becoming no less strategic than the ports or container ships themselves. A country or company that controls key digital logistics infrastructure potentially gains access to a vast array of information on global supply chains. This is precisely why the US and China are competing not only over the production of ships, port terminals or maritime routes. Control over the digital systems through which global trade data flows is playing an increasingly important role.
The history of LOGINK shows that a global technology platform cannot be stopped by technical means alone. Political pressure, issues of trust and concerns about data security can thwart even large-scale international expansion.
