China has told Danish shipping group Maersk and Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC Shipping) to cease operating ports on the Panama Canal, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
In a meeting with China's state planner last month, Maersk and MSC Shipping were told to withdraw from the Balboa and Cristóbal ports immediately, the report said, citing two people familiar with the talks.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Maersk, MSC Shipping, China's foreign ministry and state planner did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Maersk and MSC were told not to, "engage in illegal activities that harm the interests of Chinese companies, and to uphold commercial ethics and international rules," the report said.
Panama has granted temporary 18-month concessions to keep the terminals operating, with APM Terminals, a unit of Maersk, managing Balboa and TIL Panama, a unit of MSC, handling Cristobal.
CK Hutchison has faced heavy criticism from China since unveiling a plan in March 2025 to sell 43 ports in 23 countries, including the Balboa and Cristóbal ports, to a group led by BlackRock and Italian Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping firm MSC.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Subhranshu Sahu)
