Loading ...China Demands Its Shipping Giant Join Western-Led Panama Ports Deal
A new report from the Wall Street Journal suggests that President Trump may be growing concerned—or is already alarmed—by this new development: Beijing is now demanding that China’s largest shipping company, Cosco, be included in the Western-investor deal to purchase ports from Hong Kong–based CK Hutchison.
The future of CK Hutchison’s deal to sell two Panama ports—the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals (40 other ports worldwide)—to a BlackRock-led consortium is becoming increasingly complex with Beijing pushing for Cosco to join the group of investors…
WSJ’s report is unlikely to sit well with the President, his advisors, or military planners, especially as the Pentagon’s strategic pivot has focused on bolstering hemispheric defense—part of a broader effort to reclaim control of the Panama Canal from Chinese influence. After all, the last thing the U.S. needs is China meddling in the Gulf of America.