There was never a question that CK Hutchison’s sale of its Panama Canal port assets to a BlackRock-led consortium might face backlash from China. The deal helped its owner, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing,

China has told state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to Li Ka-shing and his family, according to people familiar with the matter, after the Hong Kong billionaire irked Beijing with his plan to sell two Panama ports to a global consortium.

Chinese regulators have also begun examining the Hong Kong tycoon’s family’s investments, both domestic and overseas, in an effort to map the full extent of their financial interests