Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

China has held up the $23 billion sale of dozens of ports, including two key ports in the Panama Canal, to a group led by US investing giant, BlackRock, after President Donald Trump expressed concern about Beijing’s sway over the strategic shipping lanes.

March 4, CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate controlled by 96-year-old billionaire Li Ka-shing, announced plans to sell 43 port facilities globally — including critical ports at both ends of the Panama Canal and near the Suez Canal — for approximately $22.8 billion.

But China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has unexpectedly initiated an investigation into potential violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws, effectively stalling the deal.

The deal would have shifted control of two ports in Panama to the US-led investor group, but it is now likely to be delayed for at least a short period beyond the initial April 2 deadline, people familiar with the matter said. The deal had drawn praise from Trump and criticism from China’s state-backed media.

China President Xi Jinping is reportedly “angry” over CK Hutchison’s plans to sell its Panama Canal port operations — particularly because the company did not consult Beijing beforehand, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The deal — spearheaded by BlackRock Chief Executive, Larry Fink, a longtime Trump confidante — called for an agreement to be signed by April 2 (today), though it now is likely that the Wednesday deadline will be missed.

Also, Adebayo Ogunlesi, Founding Partner, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a subsidiary of BlackRock, will lead the move to acquire the key port operations near the Panama Canal in the deal.

As part of the agreement, GIP will manage the newly acquired assets in partnership with Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) and other strategic partners.

Under Ogunlesi’s leadership, GIP has grown into the world’s largest independent infrastructure manager, overseeing more than $100 billion in assets. The firm’s infrastructure equity funds alone account for $60 billion of its portfolio, reinforcing its position as a global leader in infrastructure investment

“We are confident that Panama will require the sale of these assets within its sovereign territory,” a White House official told The New York Post.

Insiders say Chinese leadership had hoped to leverage the port issue in its talks with the Trump administration, only to be caught off guard by the deal’s sudden progress.

Trump hailed the development as a strategic win over China — casting Panama as a key battleground in the broader US-China struggle for global influence.

In response, an op-ed published in the pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao condemned the sale as a “betrayal of all Chinese people.”

The timing of the deal’s announcement, coming just before the start of the “two sessions,” China’s most significant annual political and economic gathering, only deepened the offense for Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.

The Panama Canal — used extensively by both the US and China — has reemerged as a flashpoint in global politics after Trump renewed his pledge to assert American dominance over the waterway.

Beijing’s move to influence the affairs of CK Hutchison reinforced concerns among global observers about China’s diminishing distinction between private and public sectors as well as its aggressive encroachment into Hong Kong’s affairs. President Trump has vowed to reassert American dominance over the Panama Canal.

The dispute over the canal’s ports arises at a sensitive moment as China faces ongoing tensions from a US trade war. This week, Trump is expected to announce a new round of so-called “reciprocal tariffs.”

CK Hutchison, one of the largest conglomerates in Hong Kong, earlier this month announced plans to sell its stake in two ports on the Panama Canal to a group of US investors led by BlackRock.

The plan, part of a $22.8 billion megadeal that would grant the consortium control over more than 40 ports in 23 countries, followed complaints by United States President Donald Trump that the key shipping route was under Chinese control.

CK Hutchison shares soared following news of the deal on March 4, but plunged less than two weeks later when Ta Kung Pao, a Chinese state-run newspaper in Hong Kong, accused the company in two op-eds of “spineless grovelling” and cutting a deal “that betrayed and sold out all Chinese people”.

While it is still uncertain whether CK Hutchison and BlackRock will go ahead with the deal, a delay would not necessarily stop it in its tracks.

The deal reportedly includes a 145-day exclusivity clause for negotiations, after which CK Hutchison would be free to sell its assets to another party, according to the Post. The Post said neither party had revealed “the start or end” of the exclusivity period.

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