Following threats by the Trump administration to illegally seize the Panama Canal, Panama’s right wing government, following a visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has partially acceded to US pressure by deciding to withdraw from its participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
In a prompt reaction, on February 7, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhao Zhiyuan summoned Miguel Humberto Lecaro Barcenas, Panama’s ambassador to China, to lodge solemn representations over Panama’s decision, to which the Chinese side expressed deep regret.
More than 150 countries actively participate in the BRI, with achievements benefiting the people of various nations, including Panama, Zhao said. “Any attempts to reverse course on the BRI and go against the expectations of the Chinese and Panamanian peoples do not align with the vital interests of Panama.”
China respects Panama’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and advocates for equality among countries of all sizes, mutual respect, and credibility in commitments, Zhao stressed. China firmly opposes the United States wantonly undermining China-Panama relations and discrediting and undermining cooperation under the BRI through pressure and threats.
Lecaro said that Panama values its relationship with China and will promptly report to its government.
That same day, at a regular Foreign Ministry press conference, spokesperson Lin Jian said that China firmly opposes the United States’ actions to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation through pressure and coercion and deeply regrets that Panama will not renew the Memorandum of Understanding on BRI cooperation with China.
China supports Panama’s sovereignty over the Panama Canal and is committed to upholding the Canal’s status as a permanently neutral international waterway, he added. China has never participated in managing or operating the Canal, and never ever has China interfered. The accusation that China has control over the Canal is totally groundless. “The world is not blind to the truth as to who is keeping the Canal neutral and thriving and who keeps threatening to ‘take back’ the Canal.”
It is highly unlikely that this concession by Panama will have the effect of appeasing the Trump administration. If anything, it is likely to further turn the screws on the small Central American country.
In an article published by People’s Dispatch, and also republished by the Morning Star, Tings Chak noted that: “Trump’s rhetoric fits neatly into his vocal expansionist and imperialist ambitions, from annexing Greenland and Canada to ‘taking back’ the Panama Canal, which itself was a product of US interventionism and imperialist interest in the region.”
Tings adds: “Panamanian sovereignty over the Canal Zone became the centre of decades of struggle, coming to a head in January 1964, when students attempted to raise a Panamanian flag there in protest of US imperialism. They were met with brutal repression, and several students were wounded and killed. It wasn’t until the leadership of Omar Torrijo that Panama was finally able to gain its control over the Canal Zone, solidified in the Torrijos-Carter treaties in 1977. As an important victory for Panama’s national sovereignty, the treaties stated that the US would relinquish control of the area in 1979, with the transference of control completed by 1999 – now once again being threatened again by the provocations of Trump’s administration.”
Responding to the events of January 1964, a wave of solidarity swept socialist China, with up to 20 million people taking part in militant anti-imperialist protests. In his statement of support, issued on January 12, 1964, Chairman Mao Zedong declared:
The heroic struggle now being waged by the people of Panama against US aggression and in defence of their national sovereignty is a great patriotic struggle. The Chinese people stand firmly on the side of the Panamanian people and fully support their just action in opposing the US aggressors and seeking to regain sovereignty over the Panama Canal Zone.
US imperialism is the most ferocious enemy of the people of the entire world.
It has not only committed the grave crime of aggression against the Panamanian people, and painstakingly and stubbornly plotted against socialist Cuba, but has continuously been plundering and oppressing the people of the Latin American countries and suppressing the national-democratic revolutionary struggles there.
Significantly, and fully in keeping with his consistent analytical framework when assessing international questions, Mao’s brief survey of the global struggle against US imperialism at the time, also stressed:
Even toward its allies in Western Europe, North America and Oceania, US imperialism is pursuing a policy of the law of the jungle, trying hard to trample them underfoot.
Mao’s statement also formed the centrepiece of a pamphlet published by China’s Foreign Languages Press, whose contents also included the texts of messages from Chinese leaders Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De to their Panamanian counterparts. It should be noted that such messages were sent in the spirit of internationalism and without regard to the fact that Panama had yet to establish diplomatic relations with China. China consistently maintained its principled stand in support of Panama’s anti-imperialist struggle for sovereignty, through all its twists and turns, although bilateral diplomatic relations were not established until 2017.
The following articles are republished from the Xinhua News Agency, People’s Dispatch and the Marxist Internet Archive (MIA).
China lodges solemn representations to Panama over withdrawal from BRI cooperation with China
BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) — Assistant Foreign Minister Zhao Zhiyuan on Friday summoned Miguel Humberto Lecaro Barcenas, Panama’s ambassador to China, to lodge solemn representations over Panama’s decision to not renew the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Panama recently announced the termination of the Memorandum of Understanding on the BRI, to which the Chinese side expressed deep regret, Zhao said.
Under the framework of the BRI, pragmatic cooperation between China and Panama has rapidly developed across various sectors and achieved a series of fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to Panama and its people, Zhao noted.
More than 150 countries actively participate in the BRI, with achievements benefiting the people of various nations, including Panama, Zhao said. “Any attempts to reverse course on the BRI and go against the expectations of the Chinese and Panamanian peoples do not align with the vital interests of Panama.”
China respects Panama’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and advocates for equality among countries of all sizes, mutual respect, and credibility in commitments, Zhao stressed.
China firmly opposes the United States wantonly undermining China-Panama relations and discrediting and undermining cooperation under the BRI through pressure and threats, Zhao said.
China-Panama relations are never targeted at any third party and should not be disturbed by any third party, Zhao said, adding that it is hoped that Panama will exclude external interference and make the right decision based on the overall situation of bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples.
Lecaro said that Panama values its relationship with China and will promptly report to its government.
China urges Panama to make right decision on participation in BRI
BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) — China hopes Panama can become free from external interference and make the right decision, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Friday, responding to reports that Panama would suspend participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Lin said at a regular news briefing that China firmly opposes the United States’ actions to smear and sabotage Belt and Road cooperation through pressure and coercion and deeply regrets that Panama will not renew the Memorandum of Understanding on BRI cooperation with China.
The BRI is an initiative for economic cooperation. The BRI cooperation has delivered tangibly for people in more than 150 countries, including over 20 countries in Latin America, Lin said, adding that the BRI cooperation between China and Panama has been productive in recent years.
“China hopes Panama can proceed from the big picture of bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples, get itself free from external interference, and make the right decision,” Lin said.
China supports Panama’s sovereignty over the Panama Canal and is committed to upholding the Canal’s status as a permanently neutral international waterway, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
China has never participated in managing or operating the Canal, and never ever has China interfered. The accusation that China has control over the Canal is totally groundless, the spokesperson noted.
“The world is not blind to the truth that who is keeping the Canal neutral and thriving and who keeps threatening to ‘take back’ the Canal,” the spokesperson said.
Chinese solidarity in Panama’s long struggle for sovereignty against US imperialism
Feb. 5th (People’s Dispatch) — In his first international trip as the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio sent a strong warning message to Panama’s President, José Raúl Mulino. Consistent with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign message, Rubio said that “absent immediate changes” to reduce the “China influence” over the Panama Canal, Washington would be required to “take measures necessary.”
In Trump’s inauguration speech two weeks earlier, China’s only mention was linked to the Panama Canal. After declaring that he would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” Trump lamented how the Panama Canal had been “foolishly given to the country of Panama” and claimed that “above all, China is operating the Panama Canal. We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.” Trump’s rhetoric fits neatly into his vocal expansionist and imperialist ambitions, from annexing Greenland and Canada to “taking back” the Panama Canal, which itself was a product of US interventionism and imperialist interest in the region.
Panama’s fight for sovereignty
Panamanian independence from Colombia in 1903 was supported by the United States insofar it its future interests were guaranteed. Fifteen days later, the Hay-Bunau-Varilla treaty was signed, giving the United States exclusive rights to build a canal across Panama and to the Canal Zone “in perpetuity”.
Panamanian sovereignty over the Canal Zone became the center of decades of struggle, coming to a head in January 1964, when students attempted to raise a Panamanian flag there in protest of US imperialism. They were met with brutal repression, and several students were wounded and killed. It wasn’t until the leadership of Omar Torrijo that Panama was finally able to gain its control over the Canal Zone, solidified in the Torrijos-Carter treaties in 1977. As an important victory for Panama’s national sovereignty, the treaties stated that the US would relinquish control of the area in 1979, with the transference of control completed by 1999 – now once again being threatened again by the provocations of Trump’s administration.
China in the US’ backyard?
Marco Rubio visited Panama as part of a five-nation trip through Central America, which includes Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. Known for his hawkish stance on China, former Florida senator Rubio has expressed concerns about China’s influence over the canal, warning of its potential to become a “choke point” in times of conflict and a “direct threat to US national security.” As an outcome of this visit, Panama announced it would not renew its involvement in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Panama was the first Latin American country to join the BRI, though a number of investment projects were suspended or canceled in 2019, with Panama’s election of Laurentino Cortizo as president. China’s involvement with the Panama Canal began in earnest in 2016, when state-owned Cosco Shipping sent its first ship through the canal’s USD 5 billion expansion, financed and built over nine years. In the same year, China’s Landbridge Group purchased Panama’s largest Atlantic port on Margarita Island for USD 900 million. By 2018, Chinese companies such as China Harbour Engineering Company and China Communications Construction Company had secured a USD 1.4 billion contract to build a fourth bridge over the canal. During this period, after breaking off diplomatic relations with Taiwan (Republic of China) in June 2017, Panama established diplomatic relations with the PRC. Today, seven of the remaining eleven UN member states that have ties with Taiwan are in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Globally, no doubt China has been a major player in maritime trade. Over the last decade, under the banner of the “Maritime Silk Road”, China has invested in 129 ports across dozens of countries, mostly in the Global South. However, only 17 of these ports are majority-owned by Chinese entities – none of them being in Panama. While Chinese companies manage significant shipping-related infrastructure in Panama, there is no evidence that the Chinese government controls the canal. Since 2018, Hutchison Ports Holdings, the Hong Kong-based private conglomerate, has managed the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal, with a concession renewed in 2021 after passing two rounds of audits—now subject to another one since Trump’s allegations.
Despite Trump’s claims of Chinese control and unfair taxation of US shipments, the United States is still the primary user of the Canal. In 2023, about 70% of the ships using the canal were linked to US trade. Over 208 million long tons of cargo were either destined for or originated from the US, with China trailing behind at 64 million tons, followed by Japan with 41 million tons and South Korea and Chile tied at 27 million tons. Nonetheless, Trump’s administration has floated extreme measures, such as outright purchasing the canal or forcibly taking control of it, which the US has no legal grounds to do so.
The Panamanian government has rejected Trump’s claims unequivocally. President José Raúl Mulino stated, “There’s no possibility of opening any kind of conversation around [transferring canal ownership].”
Panama’s trade unions and social movements have also mobilized to defend their sovereignty. On Trump’s inauguration day, demonstrators denounced his expansionist threats as part of a broader protest in Panama City against changes to the public pension system. Saúl Méndez, leader of SUNTRACS, stated, “Trump tries to erase with a single whim what was conquered with the lives of patriots. The Canal is Panamanian, and its sovereignty belongs to the Panamanian people.” Similar demonstrations were held prior and during Rubio’s visit.
China’s support for Panama’s sovereignty: past and present
Reaffirming China’s support for Panama’s sovereignty, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning highlighted the canal as “a great creation of the people of Panama” and pledged continued respect for its neutrality. Mao Ning, as well as Chinese Ambassador to Panama Xu Xueyuan after Rubio’s visit, also referred to the solidarity protests in 1964, when millions of Chinese people demonstrated to denounce the massacre of protesters and to defend Panama’s sovereignty. In his solidarity declaration that was published as a pamphlet, Chairman Mao Zedong stated:
“The heroic struggle now being waged by the people of Panama against US aggression and in defense of their national sovereignty is a great and patriotic struggle. The Chinese people stand firmly on the side of the Panamanian people and fully support their just action in opposing the US aggressors and seeking to regain sovereignty over the Panama Canal Zone. US imperialism is the most ferocious enemy of the people of the world.”
61 years later, the Panama Canal, once a symbol of US imperial dominance, has reemerged once again as an object of the US’ imperialist ambitions, in its reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine. As China deepens its ties with Latin America, replacing the US as South America’s top trading partner, the United States has issued more threats of sanctions and annexations, and, at times, offered underwhelming responses.
Through initiatives such as the BRI, which includes participation of 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries now, China has become one of the largest source of foreign direct investment and infrastructure lending in the region. One notable example is the USD 3.5 billion Chancay Port in Peru, built by Chinese companies and with Chinese investment, which significantly reduces shipping time between Asia and Latin America from 35 days to just 23, cutting a fifth of the costs.
In stark contrast, on the heels of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Peru prior to the G20 summit in Brazil, former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the “donation” of passenger trains as Biden administration’s attempt to “advance the United States – Peru partnership”. Much less a “donation”, California’s commuter rail line Caltrain had sold its 40-year-old diesel trains to Lima for USD 6.32 million as it modernized its own fleet.
Six decades ago, Mao Zedong’s words resonated across China, with up to 20 million Chinese citizens organizing solidarity protests from Shenyang in the northeast to Guangzhou in the south. Slogans such as “Firm support for the struggle of the Panamanian people to recover the Panama Canal” and “Panama yes, Yankees no!” filled the streets and airwaves. These demands still resonate today as the people of Panama firmly defend their sovereignty in the face of the US’ new wave of aggressions in the region.
Mao Zedong: U.S. Imperialism Is The Most Ferocious Enemy Of The World’s People
The heroic struggle now being waged by the people of Panama against U.S. aggression and in defence of their national sovereignty is a great patriotic struggle. The Chinese people stand firmly on the side of the Panamanian people and fully support their just action in opposing the U.S. aggressors and seeking to regain sovereignty over the Panama Canal Zone.
U.S. imperialism is the most ferocious enemy of the people of the entire world.
It has not only committed the grave crime of aggression against the Panamanian people, and painstakingly and stubbornly plotted against socialist Cuba, but has continuously been plundering and oppressing the people of the Latin American countries and suppressing the national-democratic revolutionary struggles there.
In Asia, U.S. imperialism has forcibly occupied China’s Taiwan, turned the southern part of Korea and the southern part of Vietnam into its colonies, kept Japan under its control and semi-military occupation, sabotaged the peace, neutrality and independence of Laos, plotted to subvert the Royal Government of Cambodia, and committed intervention and aggression against other Asian countries. More recently, it has decided to send a U.S. fleet to the Indian Ocean, menacing the security of all the countries of South-east Asia.
In Africa, U.S. imperialism is feverishly pursuing its neocolonialist policies, seeking vigorously to take the place of the old colonialists, to plunder and enslave the peoples of Africa, and to undermine and stamp out the national liberation movements.
The policies of aggression and war of U.S. imperialism also seriously threaten the Soviet Union, China, and the other socialist countries. Moreover, it is vigorously seeking to push its policy of peaceful evolution’ in the socialist countries, in order to bring about the restoration of capitalism there and disintegrate the socialist camp.
Even toward its allies in Western Europe, North America and Oceania, U.S. imperialism is pursuing a policy of the law of the jungle, trying hard to trample them underfoot.
The aggressive plans of U.S. imperialism to dominate the whole world run in a continuous line from Truman through Eisenhower and Kennedy to Johnson.
The people of the countries in the socialist camp should unite, the people of all the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America should unite, the people of all the continents of the world should unite, all peace-loving countries and all countries that are subject to U.S. aggression, control, interference and bullying should unite, and so form the broadest united front to oppose the U.S. imperialist policies of aggression and war and to safeguard world peace.
Riding roughshod everywhere, U.S. imperialism has placed itself in the position of the enemy of the people the world over, and has increasingly isolated itself The atom bombs and hydrogen bombs in the hands of the U.S. imperialists can never cow people not willing to be enslaved. The raging tide of the people of the world in opposition to the U.S. aggressors is irresistible. The struggle of the people the world over against U.S. imperialism and its running dogs will assuredly win still greater victories.
Down with US imperialism! Workers and oppressed nations unite!