A ship sails through the Panama Canal after Hong Kong's CK Hutchison agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb China's influence in the region,

U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed a deal led by U.S. firm BlackRock to buy most of the $22.8 billion ports business of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison, including assets it holds along the Panama Canal.

The $23 billion deal, announced by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, transfers control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports to a consortium led by BlackRock, Global Infrastructu