(Bloomberg) – Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said China has no stake in the Panama Canal and that U.S. warships pay the same toll rates as other nations, contradicting the important waterway.
Trump’s statements alleging growing influence of the world’s second-largest economy over the canal may have been motivated by “geopolitical fears that may be valid from his perspective, but in terms of Panama, have absolutely no veracity,” Mulino said in a statement. press conference on Thursday.
“There is absolutely no Chinese interference or involvement in anything to do with the Panama Canal,” Mulino said. “There are no Chinese in the canal, no Chinese or any other world power in the canal.”
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Trump put control of the canal at stake over the weekend, criticizing “ridiculous” transit fees for US ships and claiming interventions by China. The dispute sparked a sale of Panamanian government bonds on Monday. Mulino reiterated that his nation will not cede control of the waterway to the United States and said he will wait for Trump’s inauguration to hold formal talks with the new administration.
Tolls charged by warships crossing the canal are based on the amount of water used and the type of ship, a formula that is applied equally to all vessels, Mulino said. He added that the US is the canal’s largest customer and that in fiscal 2024, 77% of cargo crossing the main shipping route originated in or was in transit to the US.
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“There is no discrimination against any warship, whether US or any other country,” he said. “The channel is Panamanian and belongs to the Panamanians and there is no possibility of opening any type of question about this reality.”
