The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubioon Monday, Panama’s decision to expire his participation in China’s Global Infrastructure Plan, qualifying the measure of “”Great step forward“For your ties with the United States.
Any movement of Panama to distance from the Strip and route initiative (Bri, for its acronym in English) of Chinese President Xi Jinping is a victory for Washington, who has argued that Beijing uses the plan for the “diplomacy of the debt trap” to cement its global influence.
Rubio started the weekend for Panama, a close partner of the United States in Latin America, his first trip abroad as Secretary of State under the presidency of Donald Trump and pressed the country in Central America for his ties with China.
After the conversations with Rubio, the Panamanian president, José Raúl MulinoHe said that his country’s broad agreement to contribute to the Chinese initiative will not be renewed, and could end early. He added that the agreement expired in two or three years, but gave no more details.
“Yesterday’s announcement of President @joseraulmulino that Panama will allow his participation in the initiative of the Strip and the PCCH route to expire is a great step forward for relations between the United States and Panama,” Rubio published in X after leaving The Central American country.
Panama was the first Latin American country to officially support the BRI initiative in November 2017, five months after changing its diplomatic ties with China from Taiwandemocratically governed island that Beijing claims as its territory.
Panama has taken a “Unfortunate decision”, Said Fu Cong, Chinese ambassador to the UN. “The discredit campaign launched by the United States and other Western countries against the initiative of the Strip and the route is totally unfounded,” he said at a press conference in New York.
However, the Chinese infrastructure plan has been the subject of controversy, since some associated countries have complained about the high cost of projects and difficulties in returning loans.
The United States concerns have long extended to the operations of some Chinese companies near the Panama Canal, built by the United States at the beginning of the 20th century and delivered to Panama in 1999.
A company based in Hong Kong It operates two ports in both entries of the navigable road, while two Chinese state companies are building a room separately bridge over one of the channel entries.
On Sunday, Rubio transmitted a Trump message in the sense that China’s presence was there was A threat to the channel and a violation of the treaty between the United States and Panama.
After the conversations with Rubio, Mulino was willing to review the 25 -year concession to the company CK Hutchison Holdings, based in Hong Kong, renewed in 2021 for the exploitation of the two entry ports, waiting for the results of An audit.
The contract has been at the point of the view of American legislators and the government as an example of China’s expansion in Panama, which according to them is against a neutrality treaty signed by both countries in 1977.
Fu, China’s representative, said the accusations about Beijing’s control over the channel were “totally false” and that he had never interfered in the affairs of the interoceanic pathway.
Rubio, in statements to the press after landing in San Salvador in the next stage of his trip through Latin America, described Mulino as a friend of the United States and Panama as a strong partner. He added that his visit had achieved “potentially very good things.”
“We do not want to have a hostile or negative relationship with Panama”He said.
Trump later said a call with Panamanian officials on Friday.
(With Reuters information)
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