China Supports the Sovereignty of the Panamanian People Over Their Canal
Chinese FM spokeswoman Mao Ning, Dec. 23, 2024. X/ @CCTV_Plus
December 23, 2024 Hour: 12:28 pm
Mao Ning stressed that her country has always respected the just struggle of the Panamanian people for sovereignty.
On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that the Panama Canal “belongs to Panama” and that her country will always respect Panama’s sovereignty over it.
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“The canal is a great creation of the Panamanian people. China has always respected the just struggle of the Panamanian people for sovereignty,” she said, alluding to threats by President-elect Donald Trump that he might demand the return of the infrastructure to the United States.
Mao also recalled that “large-scale demonstrations were held in China as early as the 1960s to show strong support for the Panamanian people.”
“We believe that, under Panama’s efficient management, the canal will continue to make new contributions to facilitating integration and exchanges between different countries,” added the Chinese diplomat, who referred to statements by Panamanian President Jose Mulino, who declared that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama.”
However, on two separate occasions over the weekend, President-elect Trump complained about the “exorbitant” fees charged by the Canal’s administrators to U.S. ships and threatened to demand “the return” of the canal if “moral and legal principles” are not respected.
The Panama Canal, an artificial waterway in Panama connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific, was completed by the United States in 1914. It was returned to Panama in 1999 under a treaty signed by then U.S. President Jimmy Carter and then Panamanian President Omar Torrijos.
The U.S.-Panama agreement relinquished American control over the canal by the year 2000 and guarantees its neutrality.
teleSUR/ JF Sources: EFE – Xinhua
