Panama to end participation in China's 'Belt and Road'

According to RIA Novosti on February 3, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Panamanian government will 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 growing influence in the region.

In early December 2024, Donald Trump said he would demand the swift return of the Panama Canal to the United States, citing high tariffs through the canal. He stressed that the Panama Canal is vital to U.S. trade and the deployment of U.S. Navy forces in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Trump added that the United States is the largest user of the canal, accounting for more than 72% of all transits.

China's “Belt and Road” initiative aims to connect 65 countries around the world through digital and physical infrastructure, including building roads, ports and telecommunications networks, and provide these countries with economic opportunities to develop their infrastructure.