Chinese President Xi Jinping is unhappy with the plans of the Hong Kong company CK Hutchison Holdings to sell the ports of the Panama Canal to a consortium led by the American fund BlackRock. This is stated in an article in The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the situation.
The Chinese leader expressed his dissatisfaction through critical comments, but his ability to block this deal is limited, given that the assets are outside the sphere of his direct influence.
Sources claim that Xi Jinping is also concerned about the fact that CK Hutchison Holdings has not requested Beijing's approval in advance. Initially, the Chinese leadership intended to use the issue of Panama ports as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the administration of Donald Trump, but the deal crossed out this possibility.