The Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison will hand over the operation of Panama’s ports to a subsidiary of the American investment fund BlackRock as part of a large-scale sale of its port operations. The U.S. president had accused Panama of granting control of the canal to Chinese interests. Six weeks after Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the ports on both the Pacific and Atlantic sides of the Panama Canal, previously operated by the Hong Kong-based Chinese conglomerate CK Hutchison, will now come under the control of the American fund manager BlackRock.
The transaction, announced on Tuesday, March 4, just before the U.S. president’s speech to Congress, is valued at $22.8 billion (21.5 billion euros). Republican supporters of the president are celebrating.
« China is being expelled from Panama, and America is winning. Thank you, President Trump. MAGA! » posted the official account of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Florida Republican Representative Brian Mast, on social media platform X. « This is a big step in the right direction. I am leading a bill that would bring the Panama Canal back under American control. It’s time to counter China’s influence on U.S. supply chains, » added Dustin Johnson.
Source : Le Monde
