HONG KONG (Reuters) -Cosco Shipping Ports said it is facing "challenges" with its international investments amid pressures from the U.S. trade war, its managing director said in an earnings conference in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Wu Yu, Cosco's managing director told reporters that while there were challenges from the U.S., the global vertically integrated shipping and ports conglomerate said "we are also very focused on development opportunities in emerging and regional markets, as well as in some key hubs."

She declined to comment, however, when asked about reports that Cosco might become an investor in CK Hutchison's controversial sale of its global ports assets.

An initial plan by CK Hutchison to sell its $22.8 billion ports business to a group led by BlackRock and Italian Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping firm MSC faced heavy criticism from Beijing.