A high-stakes deal to sell two strategic Panama Canal ports has been abruptly delayed, after pressure from Beijing raised doubts about the $19 billion transaction between Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison and a group led by U.S. investment giant BlackRock. The sale—originally set to close by April 2—would have transferred control of port terminals at Balboa and Cristobal, critical trade nodes that handle around 3% of global sea cargo, to U.S. hands. But now, Chinese regulators are reviewing the deal, stalling progress and throwing its future into uncertainty. Sources close to the transaction told Reuters on Friday, March 28, that the deal, which involves the sale of most of CK Hutchison’s $22.8 billion ports business spanning 43 ports in 23 countries, is now on hold indefinitely. Though all signs pointed to a signing next week, the timeline has unraveled amid political backlash.
“Too many details to fix,” one insider told the South China Morning Post, confirming that the April 2 closing date is off the table.
The delay appears to be driven by Beijing’s unease. On Friday evening, Chinese competition authorities announced a review of the deal, citing potential market disruption and national interest concerns. This comes after two weeks of blistering editorials in Ta Kung Pao, a pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong, which labeled the sale a “betrayal” and warned that it hands a strategic advantage to the United States. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the Chinese government reposted the coverage, signaling official disapproval.
“It’s obvious why,” said one source familiar with the pressure campaign, suggesting Beijing sees the deal as a geopolitical loss in a region it considers increasingly sensitive.
Though Panama retains full control of the canal itself, CK Hutchison’s terminals sit at both ends—Balboa on the Pacific side, and Cristobal on the Atlantic—giving them logistical importance far beyond their physical size. U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly celebrated the pending sale, calling it a move to “regain American influence in the canal zone.” That prompted a swift rebuttal from Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino, who stressed that Panama has held sovereignty over the canal since 1999. Nevertheless, Trump's praise helped trigger the March negotiations between CK Hutchison and BlackRock’s group. Now, China appears determined not to let the U.S. strengthen its grip in a critical global trade chokepoint.
“Handing a knife to an opponent,” read one now-deleted post on Weibo, reposted briefly by Chinese state media before being removed.
In addition to Beijing’s intervention, the deal faces scrutiny from Panama’s own regulators. The country’s Maritime Authority has requested transaction documents, and the Comptroller General’s office has launched an audit into CK Hutchison’s extended lease rights—granted for 25 more years in 2021. That process could take weeks or longer.
So far, CK Hutchison—controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing—has not commented on the delay. The company, once heavily invested in Hong Kong and mainland China, has increasingly shifted focus to Europe and Canada, with ports now making up a shrinking slice of its earnings. If the deal goes through, port operations would drop to just 1% of its profits, down from 15% last year.
But for now, the $19 billion deal is frozen, with both China and Panama watching closely—and CK Hutchison caught between two geopolitical giants.