Hong Kong's leader has waded into a controversy over a prominent conglomerate’s decision to sell its Panama Canal port assets to a consortium including American investment bank BlackRock Inc., a deal that has angered Beijing and highlights how escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington can leave the Chinese financial

For months, Trump has complained that China controls shipping in the Panama Canal, which was built by the United States more than a century ago to link the Pacific and Atlantic oceans

All transactions must comply with "legal and regulatory requirements," Chief Exec. John Lee has said when asked about HK firm CK Hutchison's ports deal.