Amid pressure from the US, Panama is first Latin American country to leave Beijing’s global infrastructure club.
China has slammed Washington’s “Cold War mentality” in Latin America after Panama quit its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China on Friday hit out at the United States for sabotaging the global infrastructure programme.
Beijing “firmly opposes the United States using pressure and coercion to smear and undermine Belt and Road cooperation,” said Lin Jian in a statement. “The US side’s attacks … once again expose its hegemonic nature.”
Referring to a visit this week to the region by Marco Rubio, Lin said the US Secretary of State’s comments “unjustly accuse China, deliberately sow discord between China and relevant Latin American countries, interfere in China’s internal affairs, and undermine China’s legitimate rights and interests”.
Jian noted that more than 20 Latin American nations are among the more than 150 countries that have participated in the BRI since it was rolled out by China in 2013.
Panama in 2017 became the first in the region to officially join the massive infrastructure plan, which is a central pillar of President Xi Jinping’s bid to expand his country’s global influence.
But on Thursday, Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino said his country has formally lodged a notice that it will leave the project.
The announcement followed a visit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also toured the Panama Canal.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Panama of ceding control of the strategic waterway to China, despite denials from both countries.
Mulino denied that the US had pushed Panama to make the move to quit the BRI.
Rubio, who had threatened action against Panama unless it made immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, hailed the announcement as a “great step forward” for bilateral relations.
Beijing on Friday insisted that it “supports Panama’s sovereignty over the canal”.
“We hope that Panama will make the right decision based on the overall situation of bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples, and eliminate external interference,” Jian said.