Hong Kong's CK Hutchison on Tuesday agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, following intense pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb China's influence in the region.

BlackRock, America’s largest asset manager which handles over $11 trillion in assets, has agreed to purchase two ports on either end of the Panama Canal. BlackRock is buying the ports from Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison in a deal worth about $22.8 billion.

The deal comes after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to take control of the Panama Canal and end what he sees as China’s influence over the waterway critical to global trade.