Trump accuses China of seeking to take over Panama Canal

US President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that China is attempting to take control of the Panama Canal, something he promised to prevent. “Now, China is trying to take over the Panama Canal. We’re not going to let that happen, okay?” Trump said from Medora, North Dakota. In February, the Panamanian government informed that the country’s authorities had temporarily taken over the management of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on the canal after declaring the contract with Panama Ports Company (PPC), a local subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Group, invalid. Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that a 1997 law approving the concession agreement with PPC to integrate the Balboa terminal on the Pacific coast and the Cristobal terminal on the Atlantic coast was unconstitutional. China’s State Council Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office called the Panamanian court’s decision unreasonable and said it violated the legal rights of CK Hutchinson Holdings Ltd, and the company itself has filed a lawsuit against Panama. Chinese authorities, without directly mentioning the US, accused Panama of bowing to “hegemony” and succumbing to “pressure and intimidation” instead of defending national independence, and warned of possible political and economic consequences.