China protests over Panama's withdrawal from Belt and Road Initiative
China has summoned the Panamanian ambassador to complain about the country's decision to pull out of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Assistant foreign minister Zhao Zhiyuan said on Friday that Beijing "deeply" regretted the decision, according to the foreign ministry.
The meeting came a day after Panama confirmed its decision to withdraw from the massive infrastructure and investment project amid mounting pressure from the United States over its ties with Beijing.
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Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said he had given the required 90-day notice of withdrawal, asking: "What are the great things that this Belt and Road Initiative has brought to the country?"
The decision came just days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Mulino and expressed concern about China's influence over the Panama Canal.
He warned that the US would take "measures necessary" if it did not take immediate steps to end what Washington saw as China's influence and control over the canal.
Zhao told ambassador Miguel Humberto Lecaro Barcenas that Beijing hoped that the Panamanian side "will stay away from external interference and make the right decision based on the overall situation of bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples".
Zhao added: "China resolutely opposes the arbitrary actions of the US to undermine China-Panama relations and tarnish and disrupt cooperation in jointly building the [Belt and Road Initiative] through pressure and threats. China-Panama relations are not aimed at any third party and should not be interfered with by any third party."
The only direct mainland Chinese involvement in the canal is a tender for a bridge won by state-owned China Harbour Engineering Company.
However, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports won the right to operate two ports at the canal's Atlantic and Pacific exits in 2021.
US President Donald Trump's wish to regain control of the Panama Canal is an idea he has repeatedly expressed since winning re-election in November, and one he argued for in his inauguration speech.
Rubio has posted on social media that the US must remain "vigilant in protecting" the canal and "cannot and will not" allow China's growing control.
Panama was the first Latin American country to join the Belt and Road Initiative in November 2017, but it has deep and long-standing economic ties with the US, and it is one of the few economies in the world that uses the American dollar as its main currency.
More than 70 per cent of ships passing through the Panama Canal are estimated to have either come from or were headed to a US harbour.
In his meeting with Lecaro, Zhao said the Belt and Road Initiative had brought tangible benefits to Panama and its people.
He said: "Reversing course on the [initiative] and disregarding the expectations of both nations is not in line with Panama's fundamental interests."
China's foreign ministry has previously said it firmly opposes US efforts to "discredit and undermine" cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative through "pressure and coercion" and hopes Panama will "make the right decision".
Some observers have suggested that as Washington seeks to safeguard its position as a global power and preserve the dominance of the US dollar, it may be targeting "weak links", such as Panama.
In December, Trump threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on members of Brics, a group of emerging economies, if they moved to create a currency to rival the US dollar.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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