Beijing’s threat to stop a tycoon’s sale of his ports business has dealmakers wondering if they can still operate without political interference.

The statements took shots at CK Hutchison's $23 billion sale of the Panama Canal-adjacent ports to BlackRock as "bullying" without mentioning the U.S. by name.

Ninety-six-year-old Li Ka-shing earned the nickname “superman” for his uncanny sense of when to sell. Not for the first time, one of his deals has angered Beijing.