By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-20 16:41:33 | Updated at 2025-03-21 07:47:31
15 hours ago
Controversy over CK Hutchison’s decision to sell its stake in the Panama Canal ports took another turn after Hong Kong’s leader broke his silence and said the city “will handle the deal in accordance with the law and regulations”.
Hours later, the foreign ministry in Beijing echoed his remarks, with its spokeswoman stating the country’s firm opposition to “economic coercion and bullying” when asked about an investigation mainland Chinese authorities were reportedly carrying out on the deal.
The Panama Canal was funded by Washington in the early 20th century and controlled by American authorities until 1999, when Panama assumed control following an agreement with the US government.
In September 1977, then US president Jimmy Carter and the commander of Panama’s National Guard, General Omar Torrijos, signed treaties over the canal.
The Torrijos‑Carter Treaties guaranteed that the United States retained the permanent right to defend the canal from any threat that might interfere with its continued neutral service to ships of all nations while Panama would gain control of it after 1999. The US had exercised control since 1903.
The Post chronicles the development of the ongoing saga.
