The sale of 43 ports around the world by the Li Ka Shing family-controlled Hong Kong CK Hutchison Holdings Company (Chang wo) continues to attract intense attention. “The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office reprinted the article questioning the Changhe port transaction two times in three days,” Hong Kong’s economic daily said Wednesday, the websites of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council reprinted on the 13th and 15th respectively an op-ed article of Hong Kong’s ta Kung Pao titled“Mo Naive, don’t be confused” and an op-ed article of da Kung Pao titled“All great entrepreneurs are true patriots”. The article said the deal had“Aroused great concern and strong questions among the Chinese people” about why Changhe had so easily transferred so many important ports to“Hostile U.S. forces.” Do“Smart” deals take into account national interests? The Ta Kung Pao article was Lianhe Zaobao by The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office yesterday after it was reposted by the office, according to the Singapore daily.
Local time on the 13th, the United States Coast Guard ships docked at the Panama Canal along the coast of the naval base. (visual China)
43 ports, valued at $22.8 billion
Changhe announced earlier this month that it had reached an agreement in principle to sell 80 per cent of its Hutchison ports assets to a consortium led by Belaid, according to the Ta Kung Pao newspaper, transfer of ownership and operation of 43 ports and associated logistics networks in 23 countries, including Balboa and Cristóbal de la Sierra ports on both sides of the Panama Canal. It retains port operations in mainland China and Hong Kong. The sale is worth $22.8bn and is expected to generate cash gains of more than $19bn, according to Hong Kong media. The Wall Street Journal said the deal appeared to Mark Changhe’s retreat from international ports, which it had been under pressure from the US to divest.
Changhe group co-managing director Frank Lu previously stressed that the transaction is purely commercial in nature. However, “Ta Kung Pao” recently issued a series of articles questioning. “Don’t be naive, don’t be confused,” the article said, adding that Donald Trump and the U.S. didn’t see the deal as a“Normal commercial activity” at all, but directly intervened and manipulated it without any disguise or scruple, use It exclusively as a means of promoting global hegemony. The article quoted netizens as saying that the Panama Canal is the choke point of global shipping, through which 6 percent of the world’s seaborne trade passes, with China’s merchant shipping volume accounting for 21 percent, it is the heart of Chinese trade with Latin and the Caribbean. After the Panama canal is“Americanized” and“Politicized,” the United States will certainly use it for political purposes and pursue its own political agenda, and China’s shipping trade here will inevitably be subject to the United States.
“Great entrepreneurs are Patriots Zhengzheng,” the opening of a long and issued five consecutive questions, including“In the face of major right and wrong, the entrepreneurs involved should be how to choose, leading the enterprise to Where?”? “Great entrepreneurs are never cold-blooded profit-seekers, but ardent Patriots,” the article said. It ends by saying that if entrepreneurs fail to see the“Money-and-death” nature of America’s politicians and choose to dance with them, it may be a Big Deal and make a lot of money for a while, but in the end it has no future and will get a bad name in history.
Ta Kung Pao’s two articles were also republished on the website of Hong Kong’s Central Liaison Office. Another article published in Ta Kung Pao on the 16th said that behind this controversy, it not only reflects the complex game between corporate strategies and national interests in the context of globalization, it has also exposed the deficiencies of some Hong Kong companies in terms of national awareness and strategic focus.
“Geopolitical hegemony highlighted by Panama Port Deal”
The most high-profile part of the deal involves the transfer of Balboa and Cristóbal de la Sierra ports on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Hutchison won a 25-year license to operate the ports in 1997, and its franchising was extended to 2047 in 2021, according to the New York Times and Hong kong-based Toutiao daily online. The two ports served 39 per cent of container ships in the Panama Canal last year, according to figures.
About 14,000 ships pass through the 82 km canal, which traverses Central America, each year, according to the BBC. U. S. Media said that at present, the United States is the largest user of the Panama Canal, its merchandise exports and imports of container volume accounted for about 73% of the Panama Canal traffic. Meanwhile, China accounted for 21.4 percent of the cargo moving through the canal between October and September, the 20232024 after the United States.
The BBC said Donald Trump had repeatedly argued that the US should regain control of the canal and its surroundings, citing the threat of Chinese influence and the high cost of using the canal for American ships. The White House has formally asked the Pentagon to provide“Credible military options” to ensure“Unrestricted” access to the Panama Canal, US media have revealed.
S. Media reported that the Nanyang Technological University Rajaratnam Institute of International Studies Analysis, the Port’s ownership and operation rights mean that“Significant strategic issues.”. Burgh, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think-tank, was quoted by the BBC as saying that if there were a“Supply chain war” between the US and China amid rising geopolitical tensions of an economic nature, information on cargo passing through key waterways“Would be very useful”.
“Panama port deal highlights geopolitical hegemony,” said a recent article on the website of Hong Kong’s Orange News, it reflects the attempt of the United States to contain China’s development by various means.
U.S. enterprises’ fully likely to cooperate with U.S. policy of suppressing China’
Hong Kong Youth Pundit Association member Hui Hung-hu warned in an article on the 15th that although the issue involving the two ports on the Panama Canal is very sensitive, it should never be forgotten, the deal’s assets, which also include ports in more than 20 other countries, clearly cross the line of“Pure corporate activity”.
Hutchison ports, owned by Changwa, employs 30,000 people and operates 53 ports and terminals in 24 countries, the New York Times said. A map on Hutchison’s port website shows that it operates 21 ports in Asia and Australia, with 10 in mainland China and Hong Kong and others in Indonesia, Pakistan, South Korea and Vietnam. The company operates 13 ports in seven countries in Europe, 12 in five countries in the Middle East and North Africa region and seven in three countries in the s.
With the deal, Belaid will control about 10.4 percent of global container terminal throughput and become one of the world’s top three port operators, Ta Kung Pao quoted netizens as saying, it is entirely possible to cooperate with the U. S. policy of suppressing China. More netizens pointed out that the United States may use this deal as a“Model” to launch port mergers and acquisitions on a global scale through political pressure, control more key ports in the world, and use“Long-arm jurisdiction” to implement a crackdown, make Chinese ships“Unreliable”.
The US government plans to charge Chinese ships to call at US ports, according to recent media reports. The U. S. Trade Representative’s office suggested in February that a single charge of up to $1.5 million be levied on chinese-made ships. Many media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, have described the proposed measures as a“Major shock” to the international shipping industry and maritime supply chains.
Hong Kong’s“Point News” published an article on the 16th saying that once the U.S. takes over the port business of Changhe sale, as long as the U.S. orders to charge special fees for Chinese ships, all of China’s merchant ships will then settle the deal. The article thinks, Chang and deal on the surface is a business, in fact is a big right and wrong problem.