Panama Has Taken Back Control Over Both Entrances to the Panama Canal - Cancelled Chinese

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A Democrat would have probably apologized and for some reason sent China a plane full of money too.

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Had Trump not asserted himself into the fray by coming in hard threate

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. He understands better than anyone we are a democrat administration away from allowing China serious foothold in our hemisphere. They almost had control of the canal thanks to a feckless Biden administration.

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China’s influence in the Panama Canal has only grown since 2017 when then-president Carlos Varela severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognized China, further opening the door to China’s expanded footprint in critical Canal infrastructure and laying the groundwork for alignment with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

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Chinese companies have been heavily involved in infrastructure-related contracts in and around the Canal in Panama’s logistics, electricity, and construction sectors. These projects fit naturally with China’s BRI vision, onto which Panama was the first Latin American country to sign in 2018. This, along with Panama’s recognition of China, boosted China’s already existent footprint in the Canal, and Chinese companies have since positioned themselves at either end of the Panama Canal through port concession agreements. In 2016, in a $900 million deal, the China-based Landbridge Group acquired control of Margarita Island, Panama’s largest port on the Atlantic side and in the Colón Free Trade Zone, the largest free trade zone in the Western Hemisphere. The deal established the Panama-Colón Container Port (PCCP) as a deep-water port for megaships, and the construction and expansion was carried out by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), a company also active in China’s island-building initiatives in the South China Sea, and the China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC). The location of the port on the Canal has since allowed China to capitalize on Canal expansion. Additionally, in March 2021 the Panamanian government began the process of renewing the lease of Hutchison Ports PPC, a subsidiary of Hong Kong–based CK Hutchison Holdings, which serves as operator for the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, two major hubs of the Canal’s Pacific and Atlantic outlets, respectively.

Furthermore, in 2018, a Chinese consortium led by CHEC and CCCC announced it was awarded a $1.4 billion contract for the Canal’s fourth bridge, which then-president Varela called “the fifth most important project in the history of the country.” More recently, China Construction Americas finished the Amador Convention Center along the Pacific side of the Canal, a project contracted under the Varela government and funded by Chinese loans. China has also invested in energy-related facilities along the Canal. For example, the Chinese group Shanghai Gorgeous invested $900 million to build a natural gas–fired electricity generation facility. As an economic foothold into Latin America, the Panama Canal is no doubt an important gateway for China’s bid for broader presence and a logistical hub for Chinese goods entering the region.

Aside from infrastructure projects, water management efforts are also a key source of entry for Chinese players. A plan announced in September 2020 would establish a water management system to combat against drought, which threatens the operation of the Canal, but also would impact local access to water for the next 50 years. This presents another opportunity for Chinese investors to increase their presence in Panama beyond the Canal.

In the first and second quarters of 2020, China strayed from traditional infrastructure and business investments to focus on supporting Panama’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Between February and June 2020 alone, Panama received almost $2 million of aid in the form of healthcare-related supplies from China. This interest in Panama’s healthcare resources likely stemmed from the way that the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 brought multiple infrastructure projects, including the Canal’s fourth bridge, to a halt. Some work restarted in late 2020, but progress generally remains delayed.

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i was told there was no chinese threat to the canal and trump was just out of his mind telling people china had a presence there.

i was promised china wasn't involved

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Link the thread. This sounds like post-hoc pivoting to fit current data into a revised CT to claim this revised CT was proven correctly, only to ignore the original discussions never actually said that.

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read a post and see the anger or celebration then search for the facts that refute the post. It’s pretty funny.

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See my post above about 2017-2020

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