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.

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.

Shares of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison sank after a critical commentary by a Chinese state-owned newspaper about the $22.8 billion sale.