HONG KONG: Criticism of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison’s sale of its Panama Canal ports deserves “severe consideration”, metropolis chief John Lee stated on Tuesday (Mar 18) after Beijing authorities repeatedly slammed the deal.
The enterprise empire of Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, bought most of its port operations – together with these within the canal – to a United States-led consortium this month following stress from United States President Donald Trump.
Two Chinese language authorities departments managing Hong Kong affairs republished newspaper articles final week that blasted the transaction and questioned whether or not CK Hutchison sided with the US over China.
“There have been intensive discussions in society concerning the problem and this displays society’s concern over the matter,” Lee, the chief government of the largely autonomous Chinese language metropolis, informed reporters.
“These issues deserve severe consideration.”
For months, Trump has complained that China controls transport within the Panama Canal, which was constructed by the US greater than a century in the past to hyperlink the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The US president repeatedly threatened to “take back” the canal, which was handed over to Panama in 1999.
Earlier than the sale, CK Hutchison’s subsidiary in Panama had managed two of the 5 ports on the canal – one on the Cristobal facet and the opposite on the Balboa facet – through a authorities concession since 1997.
CK Hutchison, certainly one of Hong Kong’s largest conglomerates, earlier stated the deal was unrelated to latest political information.
