The US president has singled out China during his complaints about the Panama Canal – so what influence does Beijing have?
A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara locks of the Panama Canal in September 2024. Donald Trump has complained about the extent of China’s influence over the strategic channel.A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara locks of the Panama Canal in September 2024. Donald Trump has complained about the extent of China’s influence over the strategic channel.
The port operator is today known as Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing.in response to the awarding of the concessions to Hutchison-Whampoa that its officials had researched the issue extensively and “have not uncovered any evidence to support a conclusion that the People’s Republic of China will be in a position to control canal operations”.
Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, a longtime China hawk, has questioned whether Chinese companies could take control of the ports on the orders of Beijing and “shut it down or impede our transit”. “He is definitely trying to frighten Panama,” said University of Essex international relations expert Natasha Lindstaedt. “This is a negotiation tool or a distraction, or both.”
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