A Hong Kong-based company has agreed to sell most of its stake in two key ports on the Panama Canal to a group led by US investment firm BlackRock. The sale comes after weeks of complaining by President Donald Trump that the canal is under Chinese control and that the US should take control of the major shipping route. Through a subsidiary, CK Hutchison Holding operates ports at the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean entrances to the canal. It will sell its interests as part of a deal worth $22.8bn. The deal includes a total of 43 ports in 23 countries around the world, including the two canal terminals. It will require approval by the Panamanian government. The 51-mile Panama Canal cuts across the central American nation and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Up to 14,000 ships travel through it each year, including container ships carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, and military vessels. It was built in the early 1900s. The US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties gradually ceded the land back to Panama. After a period of joint control, Panama took sole control in 1999. President Trump has made several arguments for retaking control of the canal and the surrounding area. He has also demanded that the country make “immediate changes” to what he calls the “influence and control” of China over the canal.
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