Criticism of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings over its Panama Canal ports sale is mounting as key Chinese government departments posted another online media commentary warning that entrepreneurs who choose to “dance with Americans” will have no future even if they secure a “big deal”. Hutchison surprised markets earlier this month by announcing it was selling its ports operations, except for those in China, to a group led by U.S. investment firm BlackRock in a deal worth USD23 billion. The deal covers 80% of the Hutchison Port Group, a subsidiary that owns 43 container ports in 23 countries, including a 90% stake in the Balboa and Cristobal docks at the two ends of the Panama canal. Since January, United States President Donald Trump has been demanding the canal be freed from what he claims is Chinese control.
An article in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao and shared in full by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office and the Hong Kong Liaison Office of the State Council, also lauded prominent Chinese entrepreneurs who were “never cold-blooded profit-seekers but passionate and proud patriots”. It was the second newspaper commentary about Hutchison’s port deal the Beijing offices have shared in three days, moves seen as an indirect way for the central government to pressure the company into reconsidering the sale. In the commentary headlined “Great entrepreneurs are all staunch patriots”, the writer said Hutchison’s deal had fueled concerns among Chinese over why the Hong Kong-based company would transfer ports to the “ill-intentioned” U.S. so easily and questioned the “political calculations” behind the decision.
“Did the so-called smart transaction take into account the interests of the nation? Is this choice aiding and abetting evil and harming China and the world?” the commentary said. “Both history and reality remind entrepreneurs at the forefront of the storm that the only way to defend the nation, win dignity and maintain their reputation is to stand firmly with the country and fight bravely in the face of U.S. bullying.” It warned: “In contrast, those who fail to see the true nature of American politicians and choose to dance with them and go against the trend will only end up having no future and becoming infamous in history, even though they might manage to forge a ‘big deal’ and make big money in a while”. “There are also many entrepreneurs who regard being included on the so-called U.S. sanctions list as being on the ‘honor roll’ and transform external suppression into a strategic opportunity for independent innovation and breakthrough development,” it said, as reported by the South China Morning Post reports.
