Fox News reported that Panamanian President Jose Mulino vowed Sunday to end a key development deal with China after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and sharp rhetoric from President Donald Trump.
He said he would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative and a 2021 concession agreement that gives a Hong Kong-based company control of two Panama Canal ports. He said Panama would seek closer cooperation with the United States.
“I think this visit opens the door to building a new relationship,” Mulino said.
During his visit, Rubio wrote on his microblog X that “the United States will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal Zone.”
