After failing to change Li’s thinking through closed-door and public pressure, Beijing has investigated Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s proposed package to offer his world ports, including two at the Panama Canal, to BlackRock.
Unknown sources cited unknown sources in a report released on Tuesday that senior Chinese leaders have ordered some federal agencies, including the State Administration for Market Regulation, to examine the proposed offer.  ,
According to the report, the investigation will look into whether the transaction involves any potential antitrust or security breaches, but there won’t always be any follow-up steps.
After releasing its 2024 results on Thursday, a CK Hutchison spokesperson told Reuters that the company would not hold any press conferences or investor calls.  ,
For US$ 22.8 billion, CK Hutchison announced on March 4 that it had agreed to sell to a consortium led by BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, and Terminal Investment Limited ( TiL ) the majority of its 80 % stake in Hutchison Ports, which owns, operates, and develops 43 ports with 199 berths in 23 nations. It won’t sell its ports in Hong Kong and mainland China, though.
The business stated that it will close the deal within the next 145 days.
In a speech to Congress on the evening of March 4, Donald Trump claimed that his administration saw progress in reclaiming the Panama Canal because both American ports would be purchased by American companies.
meeting between Victor Li
The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference ( CPPCC ) held its annual meeting’s opening ceremony in Beijing on March 4th, the same day that CK Hutchison made the announcement. Both this meeting and the National People’s Congress’ ( NPC ) meetings are known as the” two sessions” in China.
According to Greenbean, a Hong Kong-based media outlet run by Hong Kong journalists, arrangements were made for Victor Li, the elder son of Li Ka-shing and chairman of CK Hutchison, to meet with a “national leader” to discuss the Panama ports deal during the” two sessions.”  ,
Eight “national leaders” are present in China, including Vice President Han Zheng, Premier Li Qiang, and five other members of the Central Committee’s Standing Committee, which includes President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Over 60 deputy national leaders are present.
According to Greenbean, one of the people with whom the situation is known said that Victor Li informed the unnamed Chinese leader that CK Hutchison is selling its ports to an Italian company, which is the TiL Group, the parent of Mediterranean Shipping Company ( MSC), the largest container shipping company in the world.
According to the report, Larry Fink, the chairman of BlackRock, and Gianluigi Aponte, the 96-year-old Li Ka-shing, are close friends with Trump.
In terms of their respective political titles, Victor Li, who is only a member of the CPPCC, and a national leader meet unusually.  ,
Currently, 124 of the roughly 2,100 CPPCC members are from Hong Kong, including 16 standing members ( mostly tycoons ) and one vice chairman. Leung Chun-ying, a former chief executive of Hong Kong, is now vice chairman of the CPPCC.
Victor Li had been a CPPCC member since 1998 until he was “demoted” to a member-only status in March 2023. Some small- and medium-sized enterprise ( SME) owners and academics are among the other CPPCC members.
Beijing changed Hong Kong’s electoral system in March 2021 by removing Li Ka-shing’s right to vote in the election from the 1,200-member Election Committee established to elect the city’s next chief executive.
Beijing reportedly objected to Li’s continued sale of Chinese assets to invest in Europe for many years and to its refusal to support its anti-extradition protests in Hong Kong in 2019.
” Foreign collusion”
Ta Kung Pao, the CCP’s mouthpiece, opened fire on Victor Li after the “national leader” failed to persuade him to stop the transaction.
The Panama Ports deal, according to an article published on March 13 was “kneeling, profit-seeking, a trade of integrity for profits, a disregard for national interests and national justice, and a betrayal of all Chinese people.”
All great entrepreneurs are steadfast patriots, according to a newspaper editorial published on March 15. It claimed that Li’s ports deal benefits from fabricated political calculations, disregards China’s interests, and aids the evil tyrant’s harm on both China and the world.  ,
According to the editorial, many Chinese entrepreneurs, including Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, are proud to be backed by the US and eager to help China break the country’s technological blockade.
Both articles were distributed by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office ( HKMAO ) of the Chinese State Council, which prompted many Chinese commentators to criticize Li.
Li Ka-sh colluded with the American BlackRock Group. In an article published on March 15, Wang Qiang, a professor at Fudan University and a military columnist, writes that” we should take action on this matter.”
Li had benefited greatly from mainland China in the past. He showed his ugly face during the Hong Kong riots, which made it clear to us what kind of capitalist he is, though.
Wang claims that after the US controls all of Li’s ports, including those at the Panama Canal, it has the right to impose any measures to impose repression on Chinese shipping companies, such as by imposing exorbitant docking fees or enforcing “long-arm jurisdiction” to impose a ban on Chinese ships from docking.
He continues,” This is a special and precise attack on China’s manufacturing sector, particularly our Belt and Road Initiative.”
Li Ka-shing is China’s” thief at home,” he says,” and it is very difficult to protect against a thief at home.” Li’s CK Hutchison is “backstabbing our national strategy,” Hutchison claims. This completely violates the People’s Republic of China’s national interests. We must conduct business with him in accordance with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the applicable laws.
The concerns over CK Hutchison’s deal to sell its global port operations to a US consortium merited” serious attention,” according to Hong Kong’s CEO John Lee, who argued that international organizations should provide a fair environment for deal-making.
Lee added that any transactions would be handled in accordance with the law by the Hong Kong government. He did not respond to a journalist’s query regarding whether the Hong Kong government would handle the case under the terms of the city’s National Security Law.
A set of national security laws was approved by China’s NPC Standing Committee on June 30, 2020, which includes an offense called” collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security.”
The definition of “national security” in Chinese law includes the status where the country’s political regime, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, the welfare of the people, sustainable economic and social development, and other major state interests are largely exempt from danger and internal or external threats, as well as the ability to maintain a sustained status of security.  ,
If a foreign company’s directors are familiar with or under the obligation ( formal or informal ) to follow a foreign government’s instructions, wishes, or instructions, they may act as an external force.
A person who collides with an external force also acts in concert with it financially or otherwise as support.
The Asia Times has Yong Jian as a contributor. He is a journalist from China who writes about politics, Chinese technology, and the economy.  ,
Read: Beijing refers to Li Ka-shing as a” traitor” in the Panama ports agreement.