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The deal that shifted majority ownership of the ports on both sides of the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led consortium is under fire from Chinese state media, illustrating that the geopolitical tensions surrounding the pivotal trade artery aren’t quite ready to cool down.
A commentary published by a Hong Kong state-owned newspaper, Ta Kung Pao, slammed the decision of H.K.-based port operator CK Hutchison Holdings to sell Panama Ports Company for $22.8 billion to the consortium, which also includes the terminal operating wing of container shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).
The piece was reposted on the website of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Thursday. It was also shared by China’s liaison office in Hong Kong.
The Chinese government hasn’t officially commented on the agreement.
The commentary called the transaction a “spineless kneeling, profit-seeking and unrighteous act, ignoring national interests and national justice, and betraying and selling out all Chinese people.”
In the diatribe, author Wang Junxi said that due to the deal, “China’s shipping and trade here will inevitably be subject to the control of the United States.” Wang said potential surcharges would bring “great risks” to Chinese companies’ logistics costs and supply chain stability, all while increasing China’s freight berthing costs, and squeezing the market share of Chinese shipping companies like Cosco Shipping.
Wang also lamented other potential hits to the Chinese shipbuilding industry, including the recent proposal from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office to charge special docking fees to Chinese ships stopping at U.S. ports. Those fees could go as high as $1.5 million per ship.
The BlackRock-Hutchison deal is broken up into two parts. The first part covers the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal, but that deal still was only signed in principle. That portion is expected to be finalized on April 2, but still needs approval from the Panamanian government.
But the second iteration covers another 43 ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries, and is expected to proceed “on an expedited basis” according to the official press release, meaning it can go through even if the Panama piece does not.
With that in mind, it appears the deal still needs to be ironed out on Panama’s side.
On March 7, the Panama Maritime Authority, which oversees shipping and port infrastructure in the country, requested all legal and financial documents from the transaction. The authority is expected to analyze the transaction at the cabinet’s request to ensure that public interest in the terminals will be protected, according to Panama’s minister to the presidency, Juan Carlos Orillac.
In a statement, he said that the government took the action due to a lack of knowledge on the deal. According to Orillac, Panama’s government didn’t hear of the BlackRock/MSC acquisition until news of the deal came out through the media.
The ports are not part of the Panama Canal, and don’t have any bearing on vessels passing through the waterway.
While all eyes remain on the deal, reports from Reuters and NBC News have indicated that the Trump administration has called on the Pentagon to plan scenarios where the U.S. would increase military presence in Panama to ensure access to the canal
The U.S. military currently has more than 200 troops in Panama, but the number fluctuates as troops rotate in and out.
According to the NBC News report, U.S. Southern Command is developing potential plans that vary from partnering more closely with Panamanian security forces to a less likely option of U.S. troops seizing the Panama Canal by force.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that the U.S. needs to “take back” the canal on baseless allegations that China controls the waterway. Allies in Washington, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stressed that the true concern remained over Chinese influence over the canal, global trade and potential dangers to American national security.
During his speech to Congress earlier this month, Trump celebrated the BlackRock acquisition.
“To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it,” he said, in a message that appeared to suggest the White House had plans to expand its Panama Canal agenda beyond the BlackRock deal.
On the morning after the speech, Panama President José Raúl Mulino called out President Trump for lying about the situation.
“The Panama Canal is not in the process of being restored, and this is certainly not the task that was even discussed in our conversations with Secretary Rubio or anyone else,” said Mulino in a post on X. “I reject, on behalf of Panama and all Panamanians, this new affront to the truth and to our dignity as a nation. Cooperation between our governments requires clear understandings on issues of mutual interest, as has been done. It has nothing to do with the ‘recovery of the Canal’ or with tarnishing our national sovereignty.”
