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By Ka Sing Chan

HONG KONG, March 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - "Uninvestable" was global investors' buzzword for China exactly a year ago. In recent months, these overseas money managers appeared to be getting back their confidence in the People’s Republic. Beijing’s vocal displeasure with CK Hutchison’s 0001.HK $23 billion sale of its ports business to a BlackRock-led BLK.N consortium will put the improving mood to test.

President Xi Jinping kicked off the charm offensive himself last March, hosting a group of global CEOs, including Qualcomm’s QCOM.O Cristiano Amon and Blackstone’s BX.N Stephen Schwarzman, and assuring them the $19 trillion economy had not peaked. His administration then followed up with a raft of policy stimuli to spur growth. Hong Kong stocks have rebounded more than 40% since.

China's leaders will hope to keep the momentum going as they throw the same party next week. Schwarzman is again expected to attend, joined by others including HSBC's HSBA.L new-ish CEO Georges Elhedery. But official reaction to the ports deal will overshadow the event - as might whether BlackRock boss Larry Fink shows up. Beijing's propaganda apparatus has condemned as a betrayal the sale of assets, including those along the Panama Canal which U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, that China is controlling.

CK Hutchison has remained silent, even cancelling earnings calls on Thursday after reporting an 11% decline in 2024 underlying profit. Chair Victor Li noted in a statement that he expects headwinds with supply chain disruptions this year due to shipping lines transition as well as “ongoing geopolitical risk”.

While Beijing has spent much of the past year mending ties with local business tycoons, the fear is that the initial reaction to the ports sale might augur more direct government intervention in private sector dealings abroad, and particularly with the West. Beijing, for instance, has already delayedautomaker BYD's 002594.SZ plans to build a factory in Mexico on concerns that its technology could leak to the U.S., the Financial Times reported this week, citing sources. The government is also taking a front seat in ByteDance's sale of its U.S. app, TikTok.

That CK Hutchison is Hong Kong-based and not a mainland Chinese firm is perhaps more worrying and sets an alarming precedent for the government's long arm. Defending its national interests in an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment will require a deft balancing act from Beijing.

CONTEXT NEWS

The annual China Development Forum will take place on March 23 and 24 in Beijing. China President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with dozens of foreign CEOs including HSBC's Georges Elhedery and Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, Reuters reported on March 18, citing a source familiar with the matter.

CK Hutchison on March 20 reported an 11% drop in underlying profit for 2024 to $2.68 billion. Having cancelled all post-earnings conferences, Chair Victor Li said in a statement there might be headwinds with supply chain disruptions in the early part of 2025, partly due to “ongoing geopolitical risk impacting global trade”. The company on March 4 said it had agreed in principle to sell its 80% stake in its ports business, including operations along the Panama Canal, to a consortium led by BlackRock for $22.8 billion including debt.

(Editing by Antony Currie and Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on CHAN/ KaSing.Chan@thomsonreuters.com))