China Blocks Sale of Panama Canal Ports to U.S. Consortium

Chinese antitrust regulators have delayed the closing of a U.S. consortium’s purchase of two ports in the Panama Canal zone, an investigation that could derail the deal, CNN’s Chris Isidore and Juliana Liu reported.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (CSAMR) has launched a probe into the deal “by the law to protect fair competition and safeguard the public interest.” I Photo: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)

President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that China controls the canal, despite Panama maintaining authority over it. However, Chinese firms do own key ports on both ends of the crucial maritime passage.

Trump has threatened to have the U.S. retake control of the canal, further complicating geopolitical tensions.

The deal, led by BlackRock—the world’s largest asset manager with $11.6 trillion in holdings—was announced earlier this month and was widely seen as an effort to ease U.S.-China tensions in the region.

BlackRock’s consortium planned to acquire Hong Kong firm CK Hutchison’s controlling interest in 43 ports across 23 countries, including the two in Panama.

However, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (CSAMR) confirmed in a response to state-owned newspaper Ta Kung Pao that it had launched a probe into the deal “in accordance with the law to protect fair competition and safeguard the public interest.”

The announcement was later reposted on the website of China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office.

Following the investigation, CK Hutchison decided to delay signing the official agreement for the Panama ports, The South China Morning Post reported, citing sources close to the Hong Kong firm.

CNN journalists Patrick Oppman, Phil Mattingly, and Andrew Sager also contributed to the report.