Panama will end its participation in China's 'Belt and Road' initiative.

According to RIA Novosti on February 3, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino stated after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Panamanian government would not renew the memorandum of understanding with China on the Belt and Road Initiative.

"I have made an important decision and I am informing everyone about it. Our government will not renew the 2017 memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative. That is correct. We will study the possibility of completing the project ahead of schedule,” said Panamanian President Mulino.

Earlier, the US State Department reported that Secretary of State Rubio told leader Mulino at a meeting in Panama that US leader Donald Trump did not want to maintain the status quo regarding the Panama Canal because of China's increasing influence in the region.

In early December 2024, Donald Trump stated that he would demand the swift return of the Panama Canal to the United States, citing the high tariffs on passage through the canal. He emphasized that the Panama Canal is crucial to U.S. trade, as well as the deployment of U.S. Navy forces in the Atlantic and Pacific. Trump added that the U.S. is the largest user of the canal, accounting for over 72% of all transits.

China's Belt and Road Initiative aims to connect 65 countries worldwide through digital and physical infrastructure, including the construction of roads, ports, and telecommunications networks, while providing these countries with economic opportunities to develop their own infrastructure.