China calls courtroom ruling in opposition to Hong Kong agency CK Hutchison on Panama Canal ports ‘absurd’ and ‘shameful’.
Revealed On 4 Feb 2026
Hong Kong agency CK Hutchison has introduced the beginning of worldwide arbitration proceedings in opposition to Panama after the nation’s high courtroom annulled its contract to function two ports on the strategic Panama Canal amid stress from america.
The announcement on Wednesday comes because the Chinese language authorities’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Workplace (HKMAO) mentioned that Panama’s ruling in opposition to CK Hutchison subsidiary – the Panama Ports Firm – was “absurd”, “shameful and pathetic”.
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The Panamanian courtroom had “ignored the details, breached belief, and critically broken the respectable rights and pursuits of enterprises in Hong Kong, China”, the HKMAO mentioned on Tuesday.
“China has adequate means and instruments, and adequate power and talent to defend a good and simply worldwide financial and commerce order,” the workplace mentioned.
“Heavy costs each politically and economically will certainly be paid” by Panama if it insists on going forward with the ruling, the workplace warned.
The choice final week by Panama’s Supreme Court docket to annul the Hong Kong agency’s contract to function two ports on the canal adopted after US President Donald Trump threatened to grab management of the essential passageway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, claiming the waterway was successfully beneath Chinese language management and subsequently a safety risk to Washington.
With out naming the US, the Chinese language assertion additional mentioned that “some nation has … used bullying techniques to pressure different nations to obey their will,” and that Panama had “willingly succumbed” to hegemonic energy.
John Moolenaar, chairman of the US Home Choose Committee on China, known as the Panama courtroom’s choice a “win for America”.
The Panamanian authorities didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark concerning China’s warning.
CK Hutchison mentioned in a press release to the Hong Kong Inventory Trade on Wednesday that its board of administrators “strongly disagrees with the willpower and corresponding actions in Panama”.
“The group continues to seek the advice of with its authorized counsel and reserves all rights, together with recourse to extra nationwide and worldwide authorized proceedings within the matter,” the corporate mentioned.
Following the courtroom ruling final week, the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) introduced that the Danish agency Maersk will quickly take over the operation of two ports beforehand operated by the Hong Kong agency’s subsidiary.
The canal handles about 40 p.c of US container site visitors and 5 p.c of world commerce. The canal’s building was paid for by the US, which operated it for a century earlier than turning management over to Panama in 1999.
