Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said his country maintains a positive relationship with China despite being caught up in a dispute between the Asian superpower and the U.S., and defended Panama's takeover
Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said his country maintains a positive relationship with China despite being caught up in a dispute between the Asian superpower and the U.S., and defended Panama's takeover of port contracts held by Hong Kong's CK Hutchison.
He spoke at a regular press conference after receiving what he called a "high-level" message from China's government acknowledging that a dispute over the port contracts will be heard by international arbitration courts, and did not constitute an issue between the Panamanian and Chinese governments.
The message, received through China's ambassador in Panama, marked a friendlier approach, even as he noted an ongoing surge of detentions and inspections of Panama-flagged ships in China.
"We are, in a way, being carried along like a tide by the outcome of a problem between two major powers, the United States and China," Mulino told reporters.
The Panama Canal handles 5% of global maritime trade, making control of its entrance ports a flashpoint for geopolitical tension between Washington and Beijing.
CK Hutchison, through local unit Panama Ports Company, lost the port concessions it had held for nearly three decades after a Panama Supreme Court decision in January that was widely seen as related
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