Analysis: In Attacking Panama Port Deal, CCP Sends a Message to Investors

Xi Jinping embarked on a charm offensive ahead of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, but political pressure on a Hong Kong company could derail those efforts.

Li Ka-shing (R), founder of CK Hutchison and Hong Kong's richest man, speaks to his son Victor during a press conference in Hong Kong on March 16, 2018. Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

News Analysis

Chinese leaders have held several high-profile meetings with prominent entrepreneurs in recent weeks in an attempt to encourage confidence among investors. But at the same time, China’s regulators and state media have ratcheted up pressure against a Hong Kong company over its asset sales in the Panama Canal and other ports around the world.

For China observers, the message is clear: Under China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), private companies inevitably must prioritize political loyalty over their own business interests, whether they’re operating in mainland China or Hong Kong.

CK Hutchison, one of Hong Kong’s most successful conglomerates, has found itself in Beijing’s crosshairs following its March announcement that it is divesting itself of most of its 43 global port assets, including two ports strategically located at either end of the Panama Canal.

China’s top market regulator said in a March 28 statement that it is reviewing CK Hutchison’s plan to sell its port assets to a U.S. consortium led by BlackRock, citing the need to “protect fair competition and safeguard public interests.”

Adding to the pressure, Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing media Ta Kung Pao unleashed a torrent of critical articles denouncing CK Hutchison’s decision to sell its Panama ports. The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Beijing’s main representative in the former British colony, amplified this message by republishing Ta Kung Pao’s articles on its website, which were featured there for a week.

The latest piece, published on April 1, included comments from Hong Kong lawmakers and city delegates to Beijing’s rubber-stamp legislature urging CK Hutchison to demonstrate “patriotism” to China and reconsider the sale.

Originally set for signing on April 2, the sale agreement now faces uncertainty. Multiple Hong Kong and overseas media outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported a potential delay.

According to Lin Bin, a Hong Kong-born political analyst and media personality, this pressure campaign illustrates the long shadow that the CCP casts over China’s so-called private sector.

“On the surface, private businesses may appear independent, but that’s not the case in reality,” Lin, who now lives in Australia, told The Epoch Times. “When a company becomes a target of the government’s wrath, its decision-making power can be handed over to the state.”

Lin drew parallels to the CCP’s nationalization of private enterprise in the 1950s during its brutal anti-rightist political campaign against Chinese capitalists and landlords. It wasn’t until the late 1970s, as China’s economy teetered on the brink of collapse, that Beijing began easing its control over the private sector, introducing some liberalizing market reforms.

But recent events tell us that “ultimately, private businesses are under the Communist Party’s thumb,” according to Lin.

Beijing’s Control in Hong Kong

The attacks by local media against CK Hutchison stem directly from Beijing’s directive, China expert and Epoch Times contributor Alexander Liao previously told The Epoch Times, citing a source close to the party’s top echelon. Liao said Beijing was displeased by the port sales that attracted applause from U.S. President Donald Trump during his congressional address in March.

A cargo ship of the Hamburg Sud company at the Colon Port in Colon, Panama, on Jan. 29, 2025. Martine Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

David Huang, a U.S.-based researcher focusing on China trade policy, suggested that the massive divestment by a Hong Kong company would signal a shift in Beijing’s strategy toward business in the former British colony.

“In the past, Beijing’s regulators rarely intervened with Hong Kong businesses, opting instead for subtle warnings through pro-Beijing media. This time, the market regulator’s direct involvement in the anti-monopoly review shows that Beijing views Hong Kong firms with the same skepticism as those from the United States,” Huang told The Epoch Times.

Nonetheless, Beijing’s scrutiny over CK Hutchison, a business empire founded by one of Asia’s wealthiest individuals, Li Ka-shing, could fuel concern among foreign and local investors in Hong Kong, prompting them to reconsider their presence in the city, according to Huang.

“With Beijing extending its political reach into Hong Kong, the city risks gradually losing its status as an international financial center and a free trade port,” Huang said.

Xi’s Charm Offensive

As the CCP tightens controlling regulations amid an economic slowdown, global investors have already started to rethink their strategies in the nation. Official figures show that foreign investment in the nation tumbled to a three-decade low by one measure in 2024.

CCP leaders have intensified their charm offensive toward China’s private sector and Western companies, especially as China faces additional tariffs from Washington.

Just hours before Hong Kong media outlet Ta Kung Pao first broke the news of the CK Hutchison probe, CCP leader Xi Jinping gathered a group of global business leaders in Beijing on March 28. Touting China as “an ideal, safe, and promising investment destination,” Xi urged the 40 foreign executives and business group leaders to continue to pour their investment capital into China, according to the official readout published by state media outlet Xinhua.

CCP leader Xi Jinping (C) speaks during a meeting with a group of foreign executives at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 28, 2025. Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images

Earlier in February, Xi convened a rare meeting with leaders from the country’s homegrown tech giants, seeking to signal a break from a years-long crackdown that scared away foreign investors.

“The private sector enjoys broad prospects and great potential on the new journey in the new era,” Xi said at the symposium, Xinhua reported.

Yuan Bin, a China current affairs commentator, pointed out the contradictions in the CCP’s approach: While Xi extends an olive branch to entrepreneurs, he is simultaneously taking a hard stance against prominent figures such as Li Ka-shing.

“Is this a contradiction?” Yuan wrote in a recent article published in the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times.

“Actually, there is no contradiction. Xi Jinping’s friendliness toward private enterprises and his emphasis on the private economy’s potential do not imply a change in the CCP’s approach toward private enterprises.”

“To put it bluntly, private enterprises must operate under the party’s directives: They must do what the party wants, in the manner the party dictates.”

Yi Ru contributed to this report. 

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.