China pushes for 'prudence' on CK Hutchison's ports deal, Xinhua reports
April 28 (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry has asked all parties involved in CK Hutchison's (0001.HK), opens new tab planned sale of most of its ports operations to a BlackRock-led (BLK.N), opens new tab consortium to "act prudently," state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.
The sale by the Hong Kong conglomerate, which contains two ports adjacent to the strategically important Panama Canal, has become highly politicised amid intensifying U.S.-Sino trade tensions, opens new tab.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported on April 16 that the MSC shipping empire, a part of the BlackRock consortium, has held discussions on moving ahead with the bulk of the deal while disputes over the two Panama ports are resolved.
"We have taken note of relevant reports," foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing, according to Xinhua.
The spokesperson also urged the parties to maintain full communications with the relevant Chinese departments, the report added.
China's top market regulator had also responded to the Wall Street Journal report on Sunday, saying it was paying close attention to the deal, and that the parties should not try to avoid an antitrust review.
Tycoon Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison announced last month it would sell its 80% holding in the ports business, which encompasses 43 ports in 23 countries. The business has an enterprise value of $22.8 billion, including debt.
CK Hutchison did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
South African rand gains before manufacturing PMI, vehicle sales data
JOHANNESBURG, June 2 (Reuters) - The South African rand gained some ground against a weaker dollar in early trade on Monday, ahead of a purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey for the domestic manufacturing sector and vehicle sales figures. At 0602 GMT, the rand traded at 17.9475 against the dollar , about 0.2% firmer than Friday's closing level. The Absa PMI for May is set to be released at 0900 GMT and will shed light on manufacturing conditions in Africa's most industrialised economy. Local investors will then turn their focus to vehicle sales (ZAVEHY=ECI), opens new tab data due around 1200 GMT, giving a snapshot of consumer demand for big-ticket items. Nedbank economists said they expect annual growth in new vehicle sales to have accelerated from 11.9% in April to 20.4% in May, reflecting last year's low base and easing financial conditions due to interest rate cuts. The dollar last traded about 0.2% weaker against a basket of currencies as U.S.-China trade tensions continued to simmer and investors turned defensive ahead of U.S. jobs data. South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was little changed in early deals, with the yield up 0.5 basis points at 10.16%.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
China hits back at Trump, saying U.S. actions 'severely undermine' trade truce
HONG KONG — China on Monday accused the United States of breaching the 90-day trade truce agreed by the world's two largest economies, after President Donald Trump said it was Beijing that had 'totally violated' the agreement. Last month, the U.S. and China announced a 90-day pause on most of their tit-for-tat tariffs, which had reached higher than 100%. Trump initially hailed the truce as a 'total reset' but said Friday in a post on his Truth Social platform that China had 'TOTALLY VIOLATED' the deal. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce struck back at Trump's remarks Monday, saying that while China had implemented and actively upheld the deal, the U.S. had introduced a series of 'discriminatory and restrictive measures against China' that 'severely undermine' the agreement. The ministry said those measures included AI chip export controls, a reported pause on the sale of chip design software to China, and the announcement of U.S. plans to revoke the visas of Chinese students. 'Instead of reflecting on its own actions, it has falsely accused China of violating the consensus, which is a serious distortion of the facts,' the ministry said in a statement. 'China firmly rejects these groundless accusations.' The ministry urged the U.S. to 'immediately correct its erroneous practices' and vowed to take 'strong and resolute' measures if Washington 'insists on acting unilaterally and continues to harm China's interests,' without providing details. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that China was 'holding back' exports of rare earths that it had agreed to release as part of the truce. 'That is not what a reliable partner does,' he said on the CBS news program 'Face the Nation.' Rare earth minerals are a crucial component of products that cut across the U.S. economy, including the tech sector, the energy industry and automobile manufacturing. China supplies 60% of the world's rare earth elements and is responsible for the refining of 90% of them, according to the International Energy Agency. Bessent, who said last week that U.S.-China trade talks were 'a bit stalled,' said he was 'confident' that rare earths exports and other details could be 'ironed out' in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 'Maybe it's a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it's intentional. We'll see after the president speaks with the party chairman,' Bessent said, referring to Xi. Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, also suggested Sunday that the two leaders could speak as early as this week. 'President Trump, we expect, is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi,' he said on the ABC news program 'This Week.' Hassett said he was unsure whether a specific date for that conversation had been set. The last publicly known conversation between the U.S. and Chinese presidents was on Jan. 17, days before Trump's inauguration.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump tariffs are not going away amid legal battles: White House
Lutnick predicted Trump would win on appeal. But he also referenced other tariff authorities if the higher courts agree with the trade court that Trump can't invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to bypass Congress to issue the tariffs. Trade whiplash: Appeals Court allows Trump to keep tariffs while appeal plays out "Rest assured, tariffs are not going away," Lutnick said. "He has so many other authorities that even in the weird and unusual circumstance where this was taken away, we just bring on another or another or another." In addition to the trade court's ruling, a federal district judge in Washington, D.C. blocked the Trump administration from collecting tariffs from a pair of Illinois toy importers, also ruling that the same 1977 law didn't grant Trump the powers to impose tariffs as he claimed. Trump addressed the legal battles in a Sunday post on Truth Social: "If the Courts somehow rule against us on Tariffs, which is not expected, that would allow other Countries to hold our Nation hostage with their anti-American Tariffs that they would use against us. This would mean the Economic ruination of the United States of America!" Amid the tariff whiplash from the court rulings, Trump announced on May 30 that he's doubling his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from a 25% rate to 50%. 'Nobody's going to get around that': Donald Trump to double tariffs on foreign steel to 50% "I think it cost us a week - maybe cost us a week," Lutnick said of the court decisions, arguing that other countries still want to make trade deals with the United States. "Everybody came right back to the table. Everybody is talking to us. You're going to see over the next couple of weeks really first-class deals for the American worker." For two months, Trump and White House officials have boasted about their prospects of using tariffs to secure trade agreements with other nations. So far, the administration has only secured a deal with the United Kingdom, in addition to a pact with China to slash massive tariffs on each other for 90 days. Trump later accused China of violating the tariff agreement on May 30, White House officials: Trump and China's Xi Jinping to speak soon, iron out trade fight Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he expects Trump to soon talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping, expressing confidence trade issues will be "ironed out," including over critical minerals he said Beijing is refusing to open to trade. "They are withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement," Bessent said. "Maybe it's a glitch in the Chinese system. Maybe it's intentional. We'll see after the president speaks with the party chairman." The Chinese government said Xi has not spoken to Trump since his Jan. 20 inauguration. "I believe we'll see something very soon," Bessent said when asked whether a meeting is scheduled for Trump to talk to Xi. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
