CK Hutchison is not a British colonial company. Hutchison Whampoa was acquired by Li. The closest is Jardine Matheson which has business dealing with the British East India company. Jardine's descendent is still a majority share holder of the company. Speaking of business and politic, it's like the 2 sides of a coin. Trump is businessman cum politician.
search for li ka-shing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Knights_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire?from=L kbe doesn't give out randomly. to say li family would take orders from ccp is far from the truth, below average iq. there were no issues on waterways, it is in an equilibrium and transit fees were paid, before taco version of the wild goose chase. now the chinese officially blocked the deal unless their companies can own at least part of it. taco created an opportunity for the chinese to get piece of the pie.
no it is not a colonial company, but old money never leave the table. that can be said about india's tata, hsbc, reminisces of east india company, etc.
If you are referring to Jardine, it was the legs and arms of the British East India Company. Someone has to do the dirty job aka mercenaries. Just Google this "Did the British East India Company spearheaded the expansion of British colony?" Stamford Raffles who was an employee of the British East India Company started the trading post in Singapore and later it became a British colony.
there is a difference between legitimate mercantilism via buying and selling goods, and illegal exploitations such as slavery and opium. then there is a whole debate about colonialism. when money becomes really dirty, that is unacceptable.
Li is one of the world's wealthiest and Honk Kong Chinese who owns much of HK's activities, from real estate to logistics; definitely not a communist. His willingness to unload his port operations to Anglo American concerns speaks volumes of his disdain for Xi's China. But, like other Chinese billionaires, he must be very careful not to offend real power. This is what Elon Musk experienced recently with Trump.