HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Tuesday his government was opposed to “coercion” and “bullying tactics” by foreign governments after being asked about conglomerate CK Hutchison’s port deal with U.S. firm BlackRock.
CK Hutchison said this month it agreed to sell most of its global $22.8 billion ports business, including assets along the strategically important Panama Canal, to a group led by BlackRock in a deal that has become politicised.
“(Hong Kong) government urges foreign governments to provide a fair and just environment for enterprises,” Lee told reporters at his weekly press conference.
“We oppose the abusive use of coercion or bullying tactics in international economic and trade relations.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has previously called for the Panama Canal to be removed from what he says is Chinese ownership, and American officials and politicians have said CK Hutchison’s control of the ports represents a security risk for the operation.
CK Hutchison has said the deal is “purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama Ports”.
A week after the sale was announced, China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) reposted two commentaries criticising CK Hutchison and saying the deal was a betrayal of China and neglected national interests.
(Reporting by Clare Jim and Jessie Pang; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Tom Hogue and Kate Mayberry)
