What is at stake for China? – DW – 01/28/2025
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The new head of the Diplomacy of Washington, Marco Rubio, will travel to Panama this week, on his first trip abroad since he assumed the position. It is likely that the repression of immigration by the new administration is one of the main topics during conversations. But the statement of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, that the Central American Nation would have ceded the control of the Panama Canal to China will also occupy a prominent place.
“We did not (the Panama Canal) to China, we gave it to Panama, and we are recovering it,” Trump said in his second inaugural speech. And his comments caused rapid refutations of both Beijing and Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who in an X publication said there was “absolutely no Chinese interference” on the channel.
But Trump’s comments have raised new questions about China’s participation in one of the most important river roads for international trade. Rubio, the new US Secretary of State, addressed Trump’s concerns at his confirmation hearing earlier this month. “It could be argued that the terms have been violated under which that channel was delivered,” he said before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Panama and China strengthen their economic ties
After its completion in 1914, the United States administered the Panama Canal for decades, a river of 82 kilometers that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The total control of the channel was returned to Panama in 1999, but Washington reserved the right to use the military force to preserve its neutrality. About 40 percent of all US containers traffic. Uu. Passes through the channel every year. China is its second largest user.
The river route is managed by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), a branch of the Panamanian government. Panamanian authorities have repeatedly declared that there is no Chinese channel management.
China has significantly expanded its presence around the channel in recent years, especially since Panama established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 2017. That was the year in which Panama became the first Latin American nation to join the initiative of the Strip and China’s route.
Concerns about Chinese overreach on the river route have focused on two ports, Balboa and Cristóbal, located on the peaceful and Atlantic sides of the channel, respectively. Since 1997, they have been operated by an Hutchison Port Holdings subsidiary, in turn CK Hutchison Holdings, based in Hong Kong, owned by the Hongkon multimillionaire Li Ka-Shing.
Analysts consider that, although Trump’s threats are only bravates – and the threat that China would represent has exaggerated – there is a method in the rhetoric of the new president. “We are seeing that Trump uses Panama as an example,” says Dw Will Freeman, a researcher of Latin American studies at the Foreign Affairs Council. He is saying “that they do not believe that they can leave with his strengthening ties with China under my mandate.”
Critical military artery
In Washington there is concern that Chinese operations around the Panama Canal can transform into the capacity to control it, especially if a hot conflict between both superpowers exploded.
For Evan Ellis, a researcher of Latin American Studies at the United States Army War College, in a Taiwan Chinese invasion scenario, China’s access, access and technical knowledge could be used to “close the negative ways ” For example, “organizing” the sinking of a ship or through the physical or cybernetic sabotage of the locks.
In the case of a war in the Indo-Pacific, China could prevent American deployments and other war efforts, Ellis expects. In Taiwan, delays in American support, even a few days, could be the difference between the success or failure of a Chinese invasion.
“America first” could open doors to Beijing
Since he assumed the position, Trump has directed many of his most combative directives to other Nations of America, including those considered important allies of the United States. He has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico from February 1.
This weekend, Colombia only managed to avoid a commercial war with Washington after accepting US military planes that transported deported migrants. The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, has summoned an urgent meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) this week to discuss ways of dealing with the new US administration.
Some experts suggest that China could take advantage of US hostility. “It offers opportunities for China to neutralize the soft power and friendship of the United States.” Ellis believes. “Reduce the power of the USA and increase China’s opportunities for political and commercial commitment” in Latin America.
In any case, the Trump administration seems to be giving priority to Latin America, since Rubio also plans to stop in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic during his inaugural trip.
“It’s about knowing that if we want to be prosperous, be safe and in good shape, we have to interest ours The current world, without a doubt, is about South America and Central America. “
(GG/RML)