China and Hong Kong condemn “intimidation” after the United States.
China examines an agreement concluded by a Hong Kong company to sell ports at the Panama Canal to a financial company in the United States.
Beijing ordered several agencies on Tuesday to examine the transaction, according to Bloomberg News. The agreement was previously praised by President Donald Trump, who accused China of seeking to control the strategic navigable path.
CK Hutchison of Hong Kong said earlier this month that he had agreed to sell most of his global port company worth $ 22.8 billion, including assets near the Panama Canal, a group led by the American investment company Blackrock.
A week after the announcement, the Chinese office of Hong Kong and Macao affairs republished the comments, qualifying the sale of betrayal of China which neglected national interests.
The agreement, which has not yet been sealed, is currently the subject of a survey for security risks and antitrust violations of the orders of senior Chinese leaders, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.
A spokesperson for the Beijing Foreign Ministry said journalists should question other Chinese authorities about the report.
“I would like to emphasize that, in principle, China has firmly opposed violation or undermining the legitimate rights and interests of other countries with economic coercion and intimidation,” said the spokesperson.
These words reflected the previous comments of the head of Hong Kong, John Lee.
“”[The Hong Kong] The government urges foreign governments to provide an equitable environment and just to businesses, “Lee to journalists told Lee.
Hutchison did not immediately respond to the control reports by Beijing. The company previously declared that the agreement is “purely commercial and entirely unrelated to the recent political reports concerning the ports of Panama”.
The cabinet agreed with negotiations with the BlackRock consortium on an exclusive basis for 145 days according to a press release.
Although the agreement has not yet been finalized, it was not immediately clear which levers, if necessary, China could conclude to block the agreement, given the company that Hutchison sells is based outside China and Hong Kong, and it is itself based in the Cayman Islands.
Trump previously asked that the Panama canal be withdrawn from “Chinese control”. Many American politicians have criticized Hutchison operations at the Panama Canal as a security risk.
