A HONG Kong company's decision to sell its global port stakes highlights the dilemma countries and firms will face in pursuit of Chinese and US investment, according to analysts.
They added that as the United States under President Donald Trump sought to exclude China from agreements around the world, Beijing's global ambitions, particularly its Belt and Road Initiative, were expected to confront resistance and even a rollback.
CK Hutchison Holdings announced last week that it had agreed to sell control of a unit operating ports near the Panama Canal after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the US to regain control of the critical trade route.
A consortium including BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Ltd reached a preliminary deal to acquire units that hold 80 per cent of the Hutchison Ports group, worth US$23 billion, CK Hutchison said in a joint announcement with the consortium.
The consortium will also acquire 90 per cent of Panama Ports, which operates the two ports in Balboa and Cristobal, along with CK Hutchison's controlling interest in 43 other ports in 23 countries.
Julien Chaisse, a professor of international economic law at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) law school, said the potential sale might signal a long-term pattern of US pressure against China's presence, indicating a broadening in Sino-US investment competition.
'I believe that CK Hutchison's sale of its Panama port assets to BlackRock is not just another business deal. It's a direct consequence of US political pressure and a sign that Washington is treating Chinese-linked infrastructure as a security issue, not just an economic one,' he said.
'If this becomes a pattern, Chinese investors will have to rethink their strategies, and host countries will be forced to make tough choices about whose investments they accept - and whose they turn away.'
Mr Chaisse said Beijing might respond if major state-linked interests were threatened.
'So far, Beijing has stayed quiet on the CK Hutchison sale, likely because the company isn't state-owned,' he said.
'But if this sale is a preview of what's coming - if more Chinese or Hong Kong-affiliated infrastructure starts changing hands under US pressure, I think China won't just sit back.'
Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University, agreed that the deal could undermine global confidence in China's investment expansion through the Belt and Road Initiative, from investors to recipients.
'We have already seen a number of countries and regions rethinking Chinese investment and participation in [the belt and road], first under direct pressure from the Joe Biden administration. Trump appears to be playing the same game for now, but more aggressively,' Mr Mahoney said.
'We will also see Chinese companies asking themselves whether or not they want to go down a path [that might expose] their capital investment to geopolitical or geostrategic risks.'
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They added that as the United States under President Donald Trump sought to exclude China from agreements around the world, Beijing's global ambitions, particularly its Belt and Road Initiative, were expected to confront resistance and even a rollback.
CK Hutchison Holdings announced last week that it had agreed to sell control of a unit operating ports near the Panama Canal after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the US to regain control of the critical trade route.
A consortium including BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Ltd reached a preliminary deal to acquire units that hold 80 per cent of the Hutchison Ports group, worth US$23 billion, CK Hutchison said in a joint announcement with the consortium.
The consortium will also acquire 90 per cent of Panama Ports, which operates the two ports in Balboa and Cristobal, along with CK Hutchison's controlling interest in 43 other ports in 23 countries.
Julien Chaisse, a professor of international economic law at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) law school, said the potential sale might signal a long-term pattern of US pressure against China's presence, indicating a broadening in Sino-US investment competition.
'I believe that CK Hutchison's sale of its Panama port assets to BlackRock is not just another business deal. It's a direct consequence of US political pressure and a sign that Washington is treating Chinese-linked infrastructure as a security issue, not just an economic one,' he said.
'If this becomes a pattern, Chinese investors will have to rethink their strategies, and host countries will be forced to make tough choices about whose investments they accept - and whose they turn away.'
Mr Chaisse said Beijing might respond if major state-linked interests were threatened.
'So far, Beijing has stayed quiet on the CK Hutchison sale, likely because the company isn't state-owned,' he said.
'But if this sale is a preview of what's coming - if more Chinese or Hong Kong-affiliated infrastructure starts changing hands under US pressure, I think China won't just sit back.'
Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University, agreed that the deal could undermine global confidence in China's investment expansion through the Belt and Road Initiative, from investors to recipients.
'We have already seen a number of countries and regions rethinking Chinese investment and participation in [the belt and road], first under direct pressure from the Joe Biden administration. Trump appears to be playing the same game for now, but more aggressively,' Mr Mahoney said.
'We will also see Chinese companies asking themselves whether or not they want to go down a path [that might expose] their capital investment to geopolitical or geostrategic risks.'
SeaNews Turkey
