TRT Global – China comes up against Trump on the agreement of the port of the Panama Canal

Li Ka-Shing, Hong Kongs Richet, Control. CK HutchisonA global conglomerate which until recently exploited two strategic port terminals along the Panama Canal. But under increasing pressures by US President Donald Trump, Li agreed to sell the assets move that has now angry Leadership of Chinas.

On March 6, CK Hutchinson finalized a $ 22.8 billion Deal to sell its global port assets, including the two terminals of the Panama Canal, to a consortium led by the American investment giant Blackrock.

Asset rented The transaction, saying to the congress, my administration will recover the Panama canal, and we have already started to do so. Previously, Trump said that China controls the channel, an 82 -kilometer (51 mile) artificial waterway connecting the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.

But the lucrative agreement excited the anger of Beijing. According to to a report In The Wall Street JournalChinese President Xi Jinping has been furious by the sale, which is considered a geopolitical loss for China in a region of strategic importance.

After the agreement of Hutchisons Panama Canal, the media linked to the Chinese state condemned the agreement, accusing Li, a 96 -year -old billionaire, of betraying national interests. Li was born in Chao'an, Chaozhou in the province of Guangdong, in continental China and moved to Hong Kong in 1940 with his family as a refugee during the Sino-Japanese war during the Second World War.

Although it is respected for his global business, the nickname of the nickname Superman – the agreement on the Panama Canal placed it in a rare political cross fires.

Ta Kung Pao, a pro-Beijing newspaper from Hong Kong, directed scathing editorials suggesting that the agreement was equivalent to betray and sell Chinese interests. An article has warned: if Hong Kong companies turn their eyes on this, it is equivalent to passing the knife to its competitors at this strategic stage.

The commentary was republished on official websites linked to Chinese communist parties Hong Kong and Macao Branchessignalling alignment with the thought of the central government.

Can Beijing stop the agreement?

Although China is a single party state, led by the Communist PartyIts economic reform of the 1990s settled by former Deng Xiaopingalow Chief Private Companies a degree of autonomy. However, for major cross -border transitions, in particular those with geopolitical implications, Beijing expects a form of surveillance or approval.

According to sources familiar with the Hutchison transaction, the company has made Do not inform Beijing in advance About the sale, a decision that would have made the senior officials off guard and triggered the frustration of XIS.

Always, Experts note The fact that Hutchison is based in the special administrative region of Hong Konga and the port assets in question are located outside of continental China and Hong Kong. As such, Beijing's lever effect is limited. The blocking of the agreement could require costly political intervention and the risks alienating more suspicious investors of the tightening of Chinese on Hong Kong.

Who would dare to come to Hong Kong? If you do not obey, do not want to make a political sacrifice and do not want to be a political tool, you will be criticized and persecuted. Who will invest? said Lew Mong-HungA former Chinese political adviser, referring to any type of political operation against the LIS company which can turn against Hong Kong companies in general.

Go against Li, considered As a bridgeman Between the West and Beijing, could lead to more bad blood and mistrust between the Trump administration and the Chinese system, According to experts.

Is Trump right on Chinese influence?

Dust has renewed the debate on Trump's repeated complaint that Beijing controls the navigable way.

A first problem in his ambitious political agenda, Trump said In its inaugural speech in January: above all, China exploits the Panama Canal. And we didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama and we take it back.

Critics have long noted Whether the canal is managed by the authority of the Panama Canal, an independent organization under the Panamanian pro-American government and not by China or Chinese companies.

However, the strong opposition of Chinas for the sale of Hutchison took a break from analysts.

Chinas' reaction to the agreement implicitly concedes the point of administration of Trump that the control of the main ports, here just the Panama canal, constitutes a threat of security for the United States, said Lester RossA legal expert working for the law firm Wilmer Hales China Operations.

CK hutchisons Two terminals manage approximately 40% of containers traffic across the navigable track. Washington and Beijing see control of this infrastructure as crucial to secure supply chains and limit strategic vulnerabilities. Experts warn that in a crisis, port operators could, in theory, refuse access to rival nations ships.

While the United States and China compete for the influence of the whole world, even private port terminals become flash points in a wider struggle.