Xi Showdown With Li Ka-shing Threatens China’s Pro-Business Push

President Xi Jinping is seeking to paint China as a steady partner to investors roiled by a global trade war. A spat over a shipping lane coveted by Donald Trump is testing that push.

Hours after Xi pledged at a meeting with global executives in Beijing on Friday to create a “predictable” business environment, China’s market regulator said it would open a review into billionaire Li Ka-shing’s deal to sell 43 ports around the world, including two in the Panama Canal, citing the need to “protect public interests.”

Over the weekend, Chinese officials overseeing Hong Kong affairs shared articles ...