BlackRock's landmark deal for two Panamanian ports is in danger of running aground, threatened by geopolitical forces outside of its control. Driving the news: Panama's Maritime Authority requested all legal and financial documents involved in the sale,

The Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison’s planned sale of ports in Panama to a group led by BlackRock, the American finance giant, is under fire from Beijing.

China has sharply criticized a proposal to sell ports in the Panama Canal to American asset management giant BlackRock, attacking the deal as “spineless groveling” and a “betrayal” of the Chinese people.