plawolf
Lieutenant General
It’s not that simple because these ports are located outside of China.
If Beijing blocks the sale, it opens itself up to American made-up accusations that it’s port and other infrastructure investments abroad are not merely commercial endeavours, and thus carry national security implications for the host nations. That in turn paved the way for corrupt or compromised local leaders and politicians to push for nationalisation of Chinese owned infrastructure worldwide. I think that’s the main trap, with the Americans hoping China will block the deal.
I think this is a rare L for China, and lessons need to be learnt, first and foremost in getting a much better handling of the activities of major Chinese companies in key strategic sectors with heavy foreign exposure.
That is not to say China shouldn’t retaliate. Indeed, I think this is a case where China should overreact to set an example. Throw the proverbial legal book at CK Hutchinson and basically nuke the company if it can. At a minimum it needs to be broken up and stripped of all strategically valuable assets. I would say China should go as far as to arrange fatal accidents for every one of Li Ka Shing’s children and hires to show him just how much a 96 year old actually still have left to loose even if he no longer values his own remaining days.
