This seems important.

God dang it, just when you think you have a deal... 

...But Trump's big mouth sure works in mysterious ways, doesn't it? That's why, while I invariably cringe at his framing, I always counsel sticking around to see what shakes out.

This time, he shook the Chinese right out of the Canal Zone and in less than two months.

BlackRock strikes deal to bring ports on both sides of Panama Canal under American control

...some malevolent Winnie the Pooh steps on it.

The Panama Canal: Ground Zero for World War 3 in the Western Hemisphere?

China is Blocking Transfer of Critical Entry Ports of Balboa & Cristobal from Hong Kong -based CK Hutchinson Port Group Holdings to U.S. based BlackRock in Blockbuster Deal with 43 Ports in 23 Countries pic.twitter.com/5zXOBMaPWS

— DaKey2Eternity (@Key2Eternity) April 1, 2025

So what the heck happened?

Truth be told, China was blind-sided by the entire Trump Panama offensive and not only how quickly but how completely Panama caved to the pressure.

The Chinese were furious in February when the Panamanians invoked their 90-day 'get out of jail free' card to withdraw from the infamous CCP 'Belt and Roads' (BRI) initiative. They thought they had the isthmus in the bag.

China has slammed Washington’s “Cold War mentality” in Latin America after Panama quit its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China on Friday hit out at the United States for sabotaging the global infrastructure programme.

Beijing “firmly opposes the United States using pressure and coercion to smear and undermine Belt and Road cooperation,” said Lin Jian in a statement. “The US side’s attacks … once again expose its hegemonic nature.”

Referring to a visit this week to the region by Marco Rubio, Lin said the US Secretary of State’s comments “unjustly accuse China, deliberately sow discord between China and relevant Latin American countries, interfere in China’s internal affairs, and undermine China’s legitimate rights and interests”.

Chairman Xi got hit with another right hook when Hong Kong-based CK Hutchinson and Holdings worked out a deal with a United States consortium led by Blackrock to turn over control of the ports at both Canal entrances.

...The consortium, comprised of BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited will acquire 90% interests in Panama Ports Company, which owns and operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama, according to the filing.

Trump was, naturally, pretty damn happy.

...Mr. Trump touted the move in his address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, saying that "to further enhance our national security, our administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it."

"Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal, and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal, and a couple of other canals," the president said

The Chinese government, while technically having nothing to do with a semi-autonomous Hong Kong-based port company, has everything in the world to do with anything operating out of Hong Kong, and it went on the attack against CK Hutchinson's deal immediately.

The first step was excoriating the company in opinion pieces in both Hong Kong and mainland Chinese newspapers, letting everyone know where the government stood.

...On Saturday, the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office -- the Beijing-based authority in charge of Hong Kong affairs -- reposted a newspaper editorial titled "Great entrepreneurs have always been outstanding patriots".

The article, originally published by the Beijing-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong, said many Chinese people have questioned "how so many important ports can be so easily handed over to ill-meaning American forces".

"If (entrepreneurs) fail to see the true nature of American politicians... and choose to dance with them, perhaps they can do a mega-deal and get rich for a while, but in the end they have no future and will be scorned by history," the piece read.

...CK Hutchison stocks in Hong Kong plunged more than six percent on Friday after Chinese authorities republished an op-ed telling the company to choose "which side it stands on".

That older article appeared in the commentary section of Thursday's Ta Kung Pao, which is owned by a subsidiary of the Liaison Office.

In contrast, Saturday's editorial was excerpted on the front page and its full text ran on page three.

Chinese media pressure on the company has only increased as March moved on, the April closing date moved closer, and relations between the Trump administration and China, in the throws of a war of trade and words, has become frostier.

A pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper stepped up criticism of CK Hutchison's (0001.HK), opens new tab deal to sell its Panama ports to a BlackRock-led group, sending its shares lower on Monday, as sources said the transaction, due to be signed by April 2, would be delayed.

The deal has become highly politicised as the Hong Kong conglomerate is thrust into the cross-hairs of an escalating China-U.S. trade war that has deepened concerns the financial hub's edge will erode further amid geopolitical tensions.

Friday, the gloves were off, and the Chinese government officially stepped in to block the deal under the guise of an 'investigation.' An anti-trust review is needed, the Chinese have said.

RIGHT

Hong Kong's CK Hutchison (0001.HK), opens new tab will not sign a deal next week to sell its two port operations near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, as pressure mounted from Beijing.

China's market regulator said it will carry out an antitrust review on the Panama port deal in accordance with a law to protect fair competition and safeguard the public interest, its official WeChat account showed late on Friday.

Thanks to the sudden review requirement, that darn paperwork won't be ready in time...if ever.

Damndest thing.

...Sources told Reuters that Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's deal to sell the Panama ports, including Balboa and Cristobal on either side of the canal, will not have the proper paperwork signed with the BlackRock-led investor group by the April 2 deadline for "obvious reasons."

Those obvious reasons include an infuriated Chinese Communist Party, which views Li as having bent the knee to Trump and the Americans by agreeing to give up such critical infrastructure around the canal.

For weeks, various Chinese media outlets called CK Hutchison's billionaire founder "spineless" and questioned which "side he should stand on." 

Another source said that talks are still very much underway regarding the $19 billion deal, which includes 43 ports in 23 countries. 

While the Trump administration has to come up with a Panama workaround, the Li family, who owns Hutchinson, has basically been told by the Chinese government, 'You won't ever work in THIS town again...'

...In another report, The Telegraph noted, "Chinese authorities have effectively blacklisted CK Hutchison and the business interests of the Li family by telling Chinese state-backed firms they will struggle to get regulatory approval for any work involving the group."

They can be persuasive.

A quick glance at a map explains why Hutchinson's holdings are so crucial in the eyes of the CCP hierarchy. The deal for the Canal ports was really extensive in nature - 

...The deal will give the BlackRock consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama, as well as others in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Pakistan and elsewhere.

#Panama: Why did #China pressure Hutchison Port Holdings to delay the @BlackRock deal?

Hutchison was the single largest Chinese company in the business. A deal for 43 ports in 23 countries--199 berths--would have meant one-third of #PRC's global port network wiped out instantly. pic.twitter.com/fYxyAqV8R1

— Ryan Berg, PhD (@RyanBergPhD) March 28, 2025

Hutchinson is between a rock and a hard place in Beijing, as rhetoric ratchets up accusing the company of endangering China's national security interests, which would trigger additional direct Chinese intervention. 

...Moreover, Ta Kung Pao called for applying China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law against CK Hutchison, which allows Beijing to impose countermeasures on foreign entities that enforce sanctions or harm China’s interests and has advocated for punitive measures if the deal goes forward. The newspaper also invoked Hong Kong’s National Security Ordinance, further signaling potential legal challenges.

In sum, if China wants to prevent the deal from happening, it certainly has the tools to do so. Nonetheless, such actions would vindicate—in part—Trump and his team’s claim that China could potentially instrumentalize CK Hutchison’s position in Panama to influence the Panama Canal operations. The Chinese government’s intervention to prevent the transaction with the aim of safeguarding its national security and interests would also mean the end of Hong Kong’s autonomy in all but name.

In Panama, the company faces rough sledding as well. Panamanian authorities have opened an investigation into the company's holdings and port operations there. 

...Most importantly, CK Hutchison’s operations at the Balboa and Cristobal ports carry additional risks. Aside from the BlackRock deal, both ports are currently under an audit from Panama’s Comptroller General, and there is a pending Panamanian Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of both ports’ concessions. This means that CK Hutchison’s legal problems in Panama could be transferred to BlackRock and its partners.

Meanwhile, if China blocks the deal and Panama’s legal rulings and audit go against CK Hutchison, the company could find itself with no ports and no income. In that event, a lengthy arbitration between CK Hutchison and Panama would likely follow, similar to the one currently underway between Isla Margarita, Landbridge Group, and the Panama Colón Container Terminal.

This is a really excellent illustration of why the Trump administration is trying to pivot from a focus on Europe and the Middle East to the Pacific.

We haven't the assets we need to straighten this out if things slip sideways. And the Chinese have been sidling sideways for a number of years now, while the US had eyes every place but on them.