On March 4, 2025, 97 year old Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka shing pressed the sell button late at night: his subsidiary, Cheung Kong Hutchison Holdings, announced the sale of 80% of its 43 ports, including two strategic ports that control the throat of the Panama Canal - Cristobal and Balboa - to the US asset management company BlackRock for $22.8 billion. This transaction involves 23 countries spanning Asia, the United States, and Europe, 43 ports, and 199 berths and supporting intelligent terminal systems. After the transaction is completed, BlackRock will control 10.4% of the global container throughput and become one of the top three port operators in the world.
Changjiang Heji Industry announces sale of port
Despite Changhe's emphasis on "retaining core port assets in mainland China and Hong Kong", the recent change in international situation has caused a stir with the change of ownership of Panama ports. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of China subsequently reposted comments, directly pointing out that the transaction is not a purely commercial activity, and calling on enterprises to "stand on the right side". Behind this transaction is not only the transfer of capital, but also a microcosm of the geopolitical game between China and the United States, and the Chinese construction machinery industry, which is catching up with the wave of going global, may be the first to bear the brunt.
China US power struggle: the geopolitical game behind port transactions
The ambition of the United States towards the Panama Canal has long been an open secret. Since the return of sovereignty over the canal in 1999, the United States has never given up control over this strategic node. After taking office in 2024, Trump repeatedly declared his intention to "retake the canal" and even threatened to use force, while the close relationship between the BlackRock consortium and the Trump administration gave this deal a strong political color. After the transaction is completed, the United States can exert pressure by adjusting tolls, restricting the flow of Chinese cargo ships, and other means. By 2024, the total amount of goods passing through the canal will reach 235.5 million tons, of which China will account for 22.7%, second only to the United States (accounting for over 2/3). If the cost increases, the logistics cost of China's exports to the Americas will significantly rise.
Li Ka shing's "high-level cash out" is also intriguing. The Panamanian government, under pressure from the United States, announced its withdrawal from the "the Belt and Road" memorandum in early 2025 and started the audit of China's operation rights. At this time, Changhe sold assets for 22.8 billion US dollars, which not only avoided political risks but also achieved capital recovery. However, this move has been criticized by some public opinion as "forgetting justice for profit", and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office has warned companies to "see the nature of the transaction clearly". Behind the logic of capital pursuing profit, the global port landscape is quietly reshaping - BlackRock not only controls the "east and west gates" of the Panama Canal, but also gains access to the port network of 23 countries in Asia, Europe, and America. The United States takes this opportunity to strengthen its stranglehold on the global supply chain, while China's layout at key nodes of the "the Belt and Road", such as Piraeus Port in Greece and Qiankai Port in Peru, may face more diversion pressure.
China's construction machinery industry: the impact of Panama's changes
The lifeline of China's construction machinery exports lies in sea transportation. According to statistics, over 13000 ships pass through the Panama Canal each year, with a significant proportion being Chinese vessels. If the United States raises the cost of crossing the river or imposes other restrictions, China's shipping costs will skyrocket. If the toll increases, the transportation cost of domestic excavators exported to Brazil may rise, and the price advantage compared to European and American brands may be weakened. This is a huge burden for Chinese export enterprises, especially for those that rely on price advantages. Rising costs may lead to product price increases, thereby losing market share. A more implicit threat comes from the flow restriction policy - the United States may further raise costs by extending the waiting time for Chinese cargo ships.
The layout risks in the Latin American market cannot be ignored. As the fourth largest export market for Chinese construction machinery (in 2024, the export value of Chinese construction machinery and components to Latin America was 5.655 billion US dollars, accounting for 10.69%), infrastructure projects in countries such as Brazil and Chile are highly dependent on port transportation. For example, if a domestic enterprise defaults on a mining equipment order in Peru due to delays at the Panama port, the company's reputation will be severely damaged. This transaction further exposed the "Achilles heel" of China's supply chain - although the "the Belt and Road" has laid out alternative nodes such as Kyaukpyu Port and Djibouti Port in Myanmar in Southeast Asia and Africa, the risk of key channels being restricted by others has not been eliminated.
Response strategy: Multi dimensional breakthrough forging global resilience
Faced with the impact of global port control transfer, Chinese construction machinery enterprises urgently need to reshape their overseas logic with "supply chain resilience+channel autonomy". According to statistics, the proportion of localized delivery through overseas production bases has risen to 28% of the industry's export value in 2024.
XCMG Brazil Company
The overseas factories of top enterprises have become the backbone for dispersing geopolitical risks - XCMG's largest overseas factory in Brazil has achieved a localization rate of 50% by 2024 and has obtained localization certifications including FINAME; As the first systematic overseas export case of intelligent manufacturing of Chinese construction machinery, Sany Indonesia's "Lighthouse Factory" has achieved 100% independent intellectual property rights for the first time. Through advanced technology, it has increased productivity by 85% and shortened the production cycle from 30 days to 7 days; Zoomlion has established a pump truck assembly plant in Germany, achieving seamless adaptation between Chinese pump trucks and European heavy-duty truck chassis. With a technical barrier built on 16000 patents, it is striving to promote the entry of "Chinese standards" into the international discourse system... These nodes of "local manufacturing and local sales" are transforming a single supply chain into a global network ecosystem.
While deepening the layout of production capacity, the exploration of diversified logistics channels is also crucial. By constructing alternative transportation corridors such as the China Europe freight train and the Arctic shipping route, the Chinese construction machinery industry is gradually breaking away from its absolute dependence on traditional maritime nodes. The normalized operation of the China Europe freight train has opened up certainty for land routes in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent, while the commercial trial voyage of the Arctic shipping route provides a strategic option for cross continental transportation to avoid geopolitical hotspots. The encryption of the land sea intermodal network in Southeast Asia further weaves regional logistics capillaries. This multi-dimensional channel layout not only adds a "strategic buffer zone" to the industrial chain, but also disperses the sudden risks of a single node to the global network through flexible switching of transportation paths.
When the tires of Sailun are transported directly from Shandong to Kazakhstan via the China Europe freight train, and when the high-altitude operation platform of Lingong Heavy Machinery is delivered to North American customers in 7 days through a Mexican factory, the overseas route of Chinese manufacturing has quietly shifted from "borrowing" to "expanding". The resilience of the supply chain is deeply rooted in the autonomous and controllable channel texture of every kilometer.
Li Ka shing's port transactions tore a crack in the old order of globalization, but also saw the evolution of China's construction machinery industry - from the production workshop of XCMG's Brazilian factory to the roaring steel camel fleet of China Europe trains, from the icebreakers in the Arctic channel to the construction machinery special trains shuttling between China and Laos. These scattered "China coordinates" around the world are weaving a supply chain network that transcends geographical blockade.
When American capital attempted to constrain Chinese manufacturing with port chains, the real disruptors had already jumped out of the chessboard. They overcome market barriers with technological certification, hedge geopolitical risks with production networks, and rewrite logistics rules with autonomous channels. Globalization has never ended, but the arena has shifted from the gates of the Panama Canal to the assembly lines of Mexican factories, the ice floes of the Arctic shipping route, and the nameplates of every equipment engraved with the words' Designed in China, Made Worldwide '.
