China says Panama ties should not be subject to third-party interference: Report
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing was ready to deepen practical cooperation with Panama.
PHOTO: REUTERS
HONG KONG - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing was ready to deepen practical cooperation with Panama and urged the Central American country to safeguard Chinese companies’ rights, during a meeting with Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
Mr Wang, who met Mr Martinez-Acha on the sidelines of a UN Security Council meeting in New York, said China-Panama ties should not be subject to third-party interference, Xinhua reported, in a reference to US pressure over Chinese-linked infrastructure near the Panama Canal, which handles 5 per cent of global maritime trade.
The meeting comes after months of tension over the future of two key container terminals at Balboa and Cristobal, located near the Pacific and Atlantic entrances to the canal but operated separately from the waterway itself.
In late January, Panama’s Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the legal framework underpinning a 1997 concession – and a 2021 extension – that allowed Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed CK Hutchison, to operate the terminals. The Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have said they oppose the ruling against CK Hutchison’s port concessions, calling it an “act of bad faith”.
The cancellation followed US pressure to curb Chinese influence around the canal.
CK Hutchison, which operated the ports for nearly 30 years, has accused the Panamanian authorities of unlawfully seizing property and launched an international arbitration case against the country, claiming damages of more than US$2 billion (S$2.55 billion). REUTERS
