Panama Canal ports deal hits impasse after China’s Cosco demands majority stake

Good morning and welcome to the Christmas Eve edition of FirstFT Asia. The newsletter will be taking a short break after today, but I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. Happy holidays!

On the agenda:

• Panama Canal ports deal hits an impasse

• The latest cache of the Epstein files

• How China became a luxury food powerhouse

• London’s best new restaurants of 2025

A BlackRock-backed $23bn acquisition of dozens of global ports, including key assets in the Panama Canal, is at risk of collapsing after China’s state-owned shipping giant Cosco demanded a majority stake in the deal.

What to know: BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Company are considering walking away from a deal to buy the ports from CK Hutchison after Cosco demanded a majority stake in the consortium. People familiar with the talks said it was unclear if Cosco’s demand was a negotiating position or a requirement from Beijing. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison announced in March that it would sell 43 ports in 23 countries, including two on the Panama Canal, to a consortium including BlackRock and a subsidiary of MSC, the Swiss-Italian shipping group.

Geopolitical stakes: The deal drew praise from US President Donald Trump, who had vowed to “take back” the canal, and opprobrium in Beijing, which said the deal was a threat to China’s national interests. Since then, Chinese officials have quietly worked to reshape the deal, applying pressure by demanding it undergo Beijing’s merger review process even though no mainland assets are involved. Read the full story.

• US-China relations: The Trump administration has accused China of using unfair trade practices to try and dominate the global chip industry, but said it will not increase tariffs on Chinese imports until mid-2027.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Taiwan releases November industrial output figures.

• Bank of Japan: The BoJ publishes minutes from its latest monetary policy meeting, when Japan’s central bank raised interest rates to a 30-year high.

Five more top stories

1. ByteDance is set to expand its multibillion-dollar AI outlay next year, as China’s top tech groups seek to keep pace with their US rivals. The TikTok owner has made preliminary plans to spend $23bn in capital expenditure in 2026, according to two people familiar with the matter.

2. The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 4.3 per cent in the third quarter, according to official data released yesterday that far surpassed economists’ expectations. But in a sign the economic backdrop is likely to deteriorate, separate data released yesterday showed consumer confidence in December slumped to its second-lowest level in five years.

3. Jes Staley and Lawrence Summers were appointed by Jeffrey Epstein as executors of his estate, according to newly released documents that point to deep ties between the influential men and the late sex offender.

• More from the Epstein files: A person appearing to be the former Prince Andrew emailed Ghislaine Maxwell asking if she had any “new inappropriate friends” for him and discussed procuring girls ahead of an official royal visit to Peru.

4. Private credit firms snapped up nearly 14 times as much consumer debt this year as in 2024, piling into riskier areas such as credit cards and buy now, pay later debt. The rush of deals raises concerns about underwriting standards and risk management by Wall Street firms.

5. Trump has announced plans to build two “Trump-class battleships” for a new “Golden Fleet” for the US Navy. The president said that construction of the ships, outfitted with hypersonic weapons, electric railguns and high-powered lasers, would begin “almost immediately”.

The Big Read

December was always the most wonderful time of year for the retail and hospitality sectors. That is no longer guaranteed as sales patterns change and consumers tighten their belts. Is Christmas as good for the UK economy as it used to be?

We’re also reading . . . 

• Geopolitics: The speed of the US retreat has stunned and discombobulated many of its partners, especially in Asia, writes Alec Russell.

• Year in a word — AI bubble: Silicon Valley and Wall Street are starting to acknowledge the excesses of Big Tech valuations, writes Katie Martin.

• A year to forget: John Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family, Italy’s most famous business dynasty, faced a pile-up of problems in 2025.

Chart of the day

China is becoming an increasingly important luxury food producer. The world’s second-largest economy now accounts for the majority of the global production and export of caviar. It has surpassed Australia as the second-largest producer of macadamia nuts and is stepping up sales of cherries, wild truffles and foie gras. Here’s how China became a luxury food powerhouse.

Take a break from the news . . . 

Our annual list of London’s best new restaurants is here. 2025 was a bumper year for debuts — the FT’s food writers and editors chose their favourites.