BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese state media on Saturday criticised Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison's ( CKHUF ) plan to sell its ports near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock ( BLK )-led group, a day after China's market regulator launched a probe into the deal.

Port operations were critical infrastructure and there were significant national interests involved in the transaction, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Saturday.

"Selling the dock is tantamount to handing a knife to an opponent," the account Yuyuantantian said in a post on Weibo.