Hong Kong opposes ‘bullying tactics,’ says leader John Lee after CK Hutchison sells Panama ports to US firm
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong opposes “bullying tactics” in international trade, Chief Executive John Lee has said after local conglomerate CK Hutchison sold dozens of ports – including two in Panama – to a US company amid a deepening US-China trade war.
Lee commented on the conglomerate’s decision to sell 45 non-Chinese ports to American financial giant BlackRock during a weekly Tuesday press conference.
The ports, located in over 40 countries, include two in the Panama Canal – a key trading route that US President Donald Trump has claimed is controlled by China and which the US should “take back.”
There have been “extensive discussions in society about the issue,” which reflects “society’s concerns over the matter,” Lee said.
“The Hong Kong SAR government urges foreign governments to provide a fair and just environment for enterprises, including enterprises from Hong Kong,” he said.
“We oppose the abusive use of coercion, of bullying tactics in international economic and trade relations,” Lee said, adding that “any transaction must comply with legal and regulatory requirements.”
CK Hutchinson Holdings, owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, made headlines in early March when it announced the US$22.8 billion (HK$177.1 billion) deal with the US-led consortium amid pressure from Trump.
The US president has not ruled out the use of force to seize the canal, which was administered by the US until 1977.
In recent years, China’s footprint has expanded significantly in Panama, as well as across the rest of Latin America, thanks to Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure programme. Panama announced in February, however, that it was withdrawing from the projects in a concession to Washington.
In a statement about the transaction, released jointly by CK Hutchison and BlackRock, the Hong Kong conglomerate’s co-managing director Frank Sixt said that the deal was “purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama Ports.”
Chinese probe
Citing sources, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Chinese authorities have begun looking into the company’s sale for signs of potential security breaches or antitrust violations.
Since the deal’s announcement, Chinese state-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao has published two commentaries criticising CK Hutchinson’s sale – both shared by the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and Beijing’s top liaison office online.
In a Chinese commentary published last Thursday, the newspaper wrote that “the companies concerned should think twice about the nature of the issue and what is at stake, and think carefully about what position and which side it should stand on.”
The commentary also cited criticism – purportedly by netizens – that the sale was an act of “spineless grovelling,” which neglected national interests and “betrayed and sold out all Chinese people.”
Last Wednesday, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for Beijing’s foreign ministry, said during a press conference that Trump’s comment about China controlling the Panama Canal was “complete lies.” He added that China has never been involved with operating the canal.
Local media reported that CK Hutchinson would not hold its earnings conferences, scheduled for Thursday, to announce their 2024 financial results.
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