Both China and the United States are ramping up pressure around the mooted sale of two ports in Panama owned by the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison to a consortium led by the U.S. investor BlackRock. Uncertainty around the deal rose this weekend when Trump posted a demand that U.S. ships should pass through the Panama and Suez canals “free of charge,” saying he told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “immediately take care of” the issue.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on Sunday that its investigation of the deal will cover all parties, and the entirety of the sales deal, which involves dozens of ports in addition to the two in Panama. Responding to reports that the two Panama ports could be separated from the wider deal, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun echoed SAMR’s announcement:
“[A]ll parties involved in the transaction must not circumvent the review by any means or implement concentration activities without regulatory approval. Otherwise, legal responsibility will be pursued.”
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The Panama transaction officially covers CK Hutchison’s assets outside of mainland China and Hong Kong. The SAMR antitrust investigation represents an assertion of Beijing’s control over a wider range of China-adjacent businesses than before.
