
US House committee chair warns Panama about Chinese influence over Panama Canal
In his letter to Minister of Maritime Affairs and Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority Luis Roquebert, Representative John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, expressed alarm over China's 'malign influence' on the canal, a conduit vital for global shipping and supply chain security.
'I am writing to applaud the work you, your Ministry, and your country have undertaken to reject undue influence from the People's Republic of China,' the Michigan Republican wrote.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino 'has demonstrated his commitment to strengthening the US-Panama relationship and has taken concrete steps to reverse efforts by the PRC to expand malign influence in Panama,' the letter said.
Moolenaar urged Roquebert's ministry to ensure that whoever ends up controlling Cristobal and Balboa, two Panama Canal ports operated by CK Hutchison, is not 'beholden' to the Communist Party of China.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
China slams US envoy nominee for framing Argentina as a great power ‘battlefield'
China has issued a sharp rebuke to comments made by Peter Lamelas, the US ambassador-designate to Argentina, saying they reflected a 'Cold War mentality' after he accused Beijing of fostering corruption and being a malign influence across Latin America. At his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Lamelas said he intended to travel across Argentine provinces to monitor agreements involving Chinese companies, which he claimed 'could lend themselves to corruption'. On Thursday, the Chinese embassy in Buenos Aires condemned the remarks, warning that such rhetoric risked turning Argentina into 'a battlefield for great power confrontation'. The statement also accused Lamelas of ideological prejudice and criticised what it described as an outdated foreign policy reminiscent of the Monroe Doctrine. During the hearing, Lamelas – a Cuban-born doctor and Republican donor with no prior diplomatic experience – grouped China with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Iran, saying these governments were working to undermine democratic values in the region. He identified limiting their influence as a key objective if confirmed to the post. The hearing also drew swift political responses in Argentina. Several provincial governors denounced the comments as interference in domestic affairs. Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof said that Lamelas would not be welcome in the province, while opposition lawmakers presented a resolution urging the government to reject the nomination altogether.


South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Argentina eases visa requirements for Chinese nationals in new overture to Beijing
Argentina on Monday announced a loosening of visa requirements for Chinese citizens in a new overture to Beijing as President Javier Milei seeks to recalibrate his foreign policy amid delayed trade negotiations with the US. Under the new policy, effective Tuesday, Chinese nationals with US or European Union visas will not need Argentine visas to enter the country for tourism or business. Until now, all Chinese citizens were subject to Argentina's full visa requirements. The policy change follows weeks of uncertainty around the timing of a long-anticipated tariff agreement with Washington and comes amid growing US discomfort over Argentina's warming ties with Beijing. In early April, US Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone publicly criticised a long-standing currency swap agreement between China and Argentina, calling it a form of 'extortion' and urging Buenos Aires to sever the deal. China's foreign ministry responded at the time by accusing Washington of attempting to 'drive a wedge' between China and its Latin American partners. The dispute highlighted the delicate position Milei faces as he courts both superpowers.


South China Morning Post
19-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Brazil police raid Bolsonaro's home as US revokes judge's visa amid Trump-Lula feud
Brazilian police raided Jair Bolsonaro's home on Friday, as a judge imposed further restrictions on the far-right former leader while he stands trial on coup charges that have vexed US President and ally Donald Trump. His son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressman who recently moved to the United States to lobby for his father, wrote on social media that federal police carried out a 'raid on my father's home this morning'. He lashed out at Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, a Bolsonaro adversary who on Friday ordered the ex-president to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, not leave his home at night, or use social media. Moraes, one of the judges in Bolsonaro's trial for allegedly seeking to nullify leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's 2022 election victory, said the measures were necessary given the 'hostile acts' against Brazil by the accused and his son. This came after Trump announced a 50 per cent tariff on the South American powerhouse for what he said was a 'witch hunt' against his ally Bolsonaro. Moraes, said Eduardo Bolsonaro, 'has long abandoned any semblance of impartiality and now operates as a political gangster in robes, using the Supreme Court as his personal weapon'.