China has criticized the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison for selling off its interest in two ports that flank the entrances to the Panama Canal. According to The Guardian, a strongly worded opinion piece in Beijing-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao March 14 attacked the U.S. for pressuring the deal “through despicable means.”
It said Hutchison should “think twice” and that the $22.8bn deal is “power politics” that is not in the country’s national interest. Shares in the conglomerate fell more than 6% on March 14.
On March 4, CK Hutchison announced it had struck a deal to sell a majority stake in Panama Ports Company, which holds the contract to run the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal until 2047, to a consortium led by the U.S. financial giant BlackRock. On March 6, Bloomberg reported that Wall Street billionaire Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, had communicated directly with President Donald Trump to express interest in making the deal.
Trump has repeatedly accused Panama of allowing China to control the canal, without providing evidence that this is the case.
Read More: Panama’s President Accuses Trump of Lying to Congress Over Canal
“[Critics] say this is a spineless, groveling, profit-seeking move that sells one’s integrity for personal gains,” said the opinion piece. “And an act that disregards national interests … [which] betrays and sells out all Chinese people.”
The opinion piece said the sale would result in China’s shipping and trade being curbed by the U.S., and that CK Hutchison should “think twice” about “what position and side they are on.”
After publication of the commentary, China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), the governing body overseeing the territory, reposted the article on its website, prompting investor fears that the deal may not complete without Beijing’s backing.
Ruled by the U.K. since 1841, Hong Kong became a special administrative region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China in July 1997, with a high degree of autonomy under the “one country, two systems” framework.
