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.

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing has raised Beijing’s ire by agreeing to sell its control over ports in Panama to appease President Donald Trump. But there may be little the Chinese authorities can do to punish him for it.

Shares in Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison fell 5 per cent on Friday after China criticised the sale of its Panama Canal ports and said it should “think twice” about the $22.8bn deal with US asset manager BlackRock.

The geoduck export market to China is worth roughly $50 million and 95 per cent of B.C.'s harvest goes to Chinese buyers, according to data from the B.C. Seafood Alliance.

China announced a 25% tariff on Canadian seafood products, set to take effect on March 20. The list of affected products includes lobster, snow crab, shrimp, sea cucumber, whelk, and prawns. This move comes as a direct response to Canada’s imposition of a 100% surtax on Chinese electric vehicles and a 25% surtax on steel

China announces tit-for-tat tariffs on Canadian food imports - Tariffs add to global trade tensions already high, with rounds of duties announcements by US, China, Canada and Mexico

Trump cited the fentanyl issue as the reason for imposing a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports in early February, on top of any existing duties. He doubled that to 20% earlier this month. He also has cited fentanyl, along with other reasons, for imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

China’s exports to developing markets have soared, opening indirect routes to the U.S. market that officials in Beijing worry may be closed under pressure from President Trump.

China said on Wednesday that the U.S. has undermined bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation by imposing tariffs on Chinese goods over fentanyl, calling on Washington to stop using the issue as a bargaining chip to "blackmail" the country.