Pressure Increases on Panama Ports Deal

Panama's Port of Balboa. (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP)

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:

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by CGSP Staff

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
4
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
5 Trump’s Contradictory Iran Strategy Leaves U.S. Weaker After War’s End, Says Chinese Commentator
6
Indonesia Begins $5.9 Billion Chinese EV Battery Project Despite Environment Fears

You Might Like

Pressure Increases on Panama Ports Deal

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 ...

Pressure Increases on Panama Ports Deal

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 ...

Trump Threatens to Take Back Control of Panama Canal

Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump on Saturday slammed what he called unfair fees for U.S. ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand control of the waterway be returned to Washington. ...

Hong Kong’s Hutchison Under Fire Again for Panama Ports Deal

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison is under renewed pressure from Beijing after selling its Panama Canal ports, with Chinese authorities publishing newspaper criticism of the deal for the second time in three days. ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP