China has blocked the sale of 23 billion dollars of dozens of ports worldwide – including two key ports of the Panama Canal – to a group led by the United States Giant BlackRock after President Trump expressed his concern about the Beijing grip on strategic shipping channels.
On March 4, CK Hutchison, a conglomerate based in Hong Kong controlled by the 96 -year -old billionaire Li Ka -Shing, announced his intention to sell 43 port installations worldwide – including critical ports at the two ends of the Panama Canal and near the Suez Canal – for around $ 22.8 billion.
But the administration of the state of China for market regulations unexpectedly launched an investigation on Friday on the potential violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws, effectively blocking the agreement.
The president of China, Xi Jinping, would be “angry” against the plans of CK Hutchison to sell his port operations of the Panama Canal – in particular because the company did not consult Beijing in advance, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The agreement – directed by the CEO of Blackrock, Larry Fink, a longtime confidant of Trump – called to the signing of an agreement by April 2, although it is now likely that the deadline on Wednesday will be missed.
The position asked for comments from Blackrock and the White House.
The initiates say that the Chinese management had hoped to take advantage of the port question in its talks with the Trump administration, to be caught by the sudden progress of the agreement.
Trump praised development as a strategic victory over China – the casting of Panama as a key battlefield in the wider fight of American China for global influence.
In response, an editorial published in the Pro-Beijing newspaper, your Kung Pao, condemned the sale as a “betrayal of all Chinese”.
The schedule of the announcement of the agreement, coming just before the start of the “two sessions”, the most important annual political and economic gathering in China, only aggravated the offense of XI and the Chinese Communist Party.
The Panama Canal – used in depth by the United States and China – has reappeared as a flash point in global policy after President Trump has renewed his commitment to asserting American domination on the navigable track.
Beijing’s decision to influence CK Hutchison’s affairs has strengthened concerns among global observers concerning the decreasing distinction of China between private and public sectors as well as its aggressive encroachment in Hong Kong affairs.
Trump said the channel was controlled by China and operated by its soldiers.
In reality, CK Hutchison, the company at the heart of the port sale, has its head office in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous region historically offering a high degree of operational independence from Beijing.
The dispute on the ports of the canal occurs at a sensitive moment while China faces in the process of an American trade war.
This week, Trump is expected to announce a new series of “reciprocal prices”.
