Chinese government officials are working to shore up their country’s grip over the Panama Canal, the South China Morning Post reported, as a battle over influence in the key waterway intensifies with Washington.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha that Panama should not allow any third parties to influence the bilateral ties between China and Panama, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout on Wednesday. The discussion between the leaders comes as a dispute simmers over who will operate ports within the Panama Canal, with the U.S. playing an active role, according to the outlet.
Wang made the remarks to Martinez-Acha while attending a high-level United Nations Security Council meeting in New York, according to the SCMP.
“China has always maintained that China-Panama relations are not directed against any third party and should not be interfered with by any third party,” the SCMP reported, citing Wang.
Beijing has spent decades shoveling money into Latin America, with Chinese entities investing $148.9 billion in the region between 2005 and 2022, according to a June 2023 congressional report.
That investment spree has gained the attention of the Trump administration, which has sought to reassert American dominance in Latin America through the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” through military operations and economic tools like blockades.
“President Trump’s Donroe Doctrine makes it clear that every dollar of U.S. foreign assistance must advance our national interest,” the State Department posted on X.
American taxpayer dollars are not private charity.
President Trump’s Donroe Doctrine makes it clear that every dollar of U.S. foreign assistance must advance our national interest. pic.twitter.com/yuif5U6CKU
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 31, 2026
“Panama is a cornerstone of security in the Western Hemisphere and a vital pillar of the global maritime trading system,” U.S. Southern Command said in a post on X. “China’s recent interference with Panama’s sovereignty over its supreme court decision is a threat to the entire hemisphere.”
“Supporting Panama’s sovereignty and freedom of navigation is a top priority for SOUTHCOM. Panama is a cornerstone of security in the Western Hemisphere and a vital pillar of the global maritime trading system. China’s recent interference with Panama’s sovereignty over its… https://t.co/JPJRh8RLNq
Should the U.S. take stronger measures to counter China's influence over the Panama Canal?— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) April 29, 2026
“We congratulate Panama for taking steps to assert its sovereignty and align with President Trump’s vision for the Panama Canal,” a White House official told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The President has made clear that Chinese control of the Panama Canal is unacceptable, violates the U.S.-Panama Treaty, and jeopardizes our national and economic security.”
The Panamanian Embassy in Washington, the Panama Canal Authority and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
The Panama Canal is nearly 40 miles long from shoreline to shoreline, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The canal is responsible for 5% of world trade, with 70% of that trade originating from or going to the U.S., according to the Panama Canal’s official website.
“The United States must be preeminent in the Western Hemisphere as a condition of our security and prosperity—a condition that allows us to assert ourselves confidently where and when we need to in the region,” the White House official told the DCNF. “The terms of our alliances, and the terms upon which we provide any kind of aid, must be contingent on winding down adversarial outside influence—from control of military installations, ports, and key infrastructure to the purchase of strategic assets broadly defined.”
A Chinese group was contracted to build a bridge over the Panama Canal worth more than $1.4 billion, the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported, citing France 24.
‘Iranian Vessels’
China’s grip on the Panama Canal has also been a boon for other American adversaries, including Iran.
Tehran has been accused of using proxy firms based in Hong Kong, China, to register ships in the Panama Canal to avoid U.S. sanctions, according to Panamanian court documents previously obtained by the DCNF.
“The United States has found that Iranian vessels are sometimes flagged by Panama in order to avoid sanctions so that they could sell the fuel that they have and then they can take that money and then use it as they wish,” Louis Sola, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, said during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in January 2025.
A Chinese port in Peru and a railroad in Brazil could create a new route that would make the Panama Canal obsolete by allowing the Chinese to move cargo across the Americas. The proposed Brazilian railroad has not been completed, Reuters reported.
“We’re catching up to the threat,” Nate Picarsic, senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and Horizon Advisory co-founder, previously told the DCNF. “We’re 20 some years behind China having its fingers into the Panama Canal, and as we belatedly get to catching up and competing there, they’re launching these massive new projects in Peru. They’re going to allow them to circumvent the Panama Canal.”
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