China blocks Panama Canal port sale to U.S.-backed consortium

China blocked the sale of dozens of ports around the world, including two key ports in the Panama Canal, to a group led by U.S. investment giant BlackRock.

"China’s State Administration for Market Regulation unexpectedly initiated an investigation on Friday into potential violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws, effectively stalling the deal" explained The New York Post.

In addition, media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal asserted that Xi Jinping disagrees with the attempt to sell the Panama Canal ports because he was not asked for prior authorization.

Similarly, sources familiar with the matter noted that Chinese leaders had originally planned to use the Panama port issue as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Trump administration.

After selling its port business for $19 billion to the U.S. consortium BlackRock, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal, owner C.K. Hutchinson Holdings finds itself in the middle of ongoing geopolitical tension between China and the United States.

According to C.K. Hutchison Holdings, the "definitive documentation" for the sale should be signed on April 2 and has decided not to respond publicly to criticism of the sale.

The Panama Canal deal came after weeks of pressure from President Donald Trump, who did not want to rule out military intervention to "regain" control of that important waterway and of great economic importance to the United States.