Panama refused to cooperate with China after Trump's threats

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said that the country's government would not extend the memorandum of understanding with China on the "One Belt— One Road" initiative.

According to Mulino, Rubio "did not express a real threat to return the (Panama) Canal or use force." However, he said that US President Donald Trump had decided that China's presence in the canal area violated the treaty that led to the transfer of this waterway to Panama in 1999. The agreement calls for ensuring the permanent neutrality of the channel.

Rubio told the president of Panama that Trump does not want to maintain the status quo regarding the Panama Canal with the increased influence of China on the region. The US State Department in its statement stressed that if the changes do not come immediately, the United States will be forced to take measures to protect its rights.

The Belt and Road Initiative (formerly called One Belt— One Way) — China's global strategy for the development of logistics, infrastructure and trade. It stems from the idea of the "Silk Road Economic Belt", which Chinese President Xi Jinping first put forward in 2013 during visits to the countries of Central and Southeast Asia. The project is aimed at activating multilateral trade and investment projects with the participation of interested countries and the use of Chinese and foreign capital.

According to the Statista service, 149 countries joined the Belt and Road in 2023. Of these, 44 are from sub—Saharan Africa, 35 from Europe and Central Asia, 25 from East Asia and the Pacific, 21 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 18 from the Middle East and from North Africa, six from Southeast Asia.