Panama seized two key ports run by a Hong Kong-based company, raising the stakes in a legal fight that has embroiled Beijing and Washington.
Port operator CK Hutchinson slammed the decision to grant the operating license to two European firms as “unlawful,” while authorities in Hong Kong lodged “stern protests” with Panama, underscoring the strategic importance of the sites.
Though CK Hutchinson has run the ports for almost three decades, Washington has recently pushed Panama to loosen Beijing’s influence over the canal, through which around 40% of US container traffic passes. The move is part of a wider push by the Trump administration to reassert US supremacy in Latin America after years during which the region grew closer to China.
