[4] China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, founded in 1961 and headquartered in Beijing, was a Chinese state-owned multinational transportation conglomerate.

[4] The merger – which occurred during a downturn in the marine transportation industry – sought to achieve economies of scale.

[14] In April 2016 the company agreed to buy 51% of Piraeus Port Authority,[15] which is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange (Athex: PPA) and is a constituent of the FTSE/Athex Large Cap index.

[15] In January 2017, the company was awarded $26.1 billion by the China Development Bank to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.

[20][21] In July 2020, the company entered into an agreement with Alibaba and its affiliate,Ant Group, to jointly promote cooperation on the application of a shipping blockchain.

This acquired listed company COSCO Shipping International (at that time, Shun Shing Holdings) as a vehicle of backdoor listing in 1997 and bought the real estate businesses, such as Shun Shing Construction and an office building, from COSCO Shipping International in the 2000s.

[clarification needed][23][24] Cosco (HK) Group itself also purchased a 20% stake in Lai Sun Hotels in 1997.

[clarification needed] [26] In 2023 the Bulgarian agent of COSCO Shipping lines, Three Stars Ltd, was accused in the local media of racketeering and violating antitrust laws.

[28] It was reported that the SASAC of the State Council has ordered Government owned companies to sell real estate development unit if it is not their main businesses.

[31] In January 2025, COSCO was added to a United States Department of Defense list of companies that allegedly work with the People's Liberation Army.

On 27 March 2013, China COSCO recorded a profit of RMB 235.47 million for the 2013 financial year and avoided the possible delisting.