Trump Chased the Chinese Out of the Canal Zone

So this was just breaking this afternoon.

First, Zelensky caves, and now it looks like the Chinese have started to.

If you remember back a whole month and a half (I know, hilarious, right?), Trump was in full ‘I just got this gig and this here Sharpie‘ bluster and had officially set his eyes on getting the Panama Canal back.

Or at least making it quite clear to that little country that the United States was no longer going to stand for it playing footsies with our geo-political enemy, especially over a strategic navigational link that we built and should never have given away. Trump was tired of Panama feeling froggy.

…Let’s take the Panama Canal. That one seems pretty simple on its face – Jimmy Carter gave it away for $1 and a vague exhortation to ‘respect the rights of the American citizens’ who still lived there.

Trump’s complaints have been that Panama is charging American ships exorbitant rates to use the canal we built and that they’ve allowed China to take it over. Panama does have succinct requirements per the Carter treaty to maintain the ‘neutrality’ of the waterway.

Trump was pretty clear yesterday that the days of ignoring that part of the agreement are over.

And by ‘China,’ Trump also meant their surrogates who were, in fact, running ports at both ends of the Canal, contrary to the Panamanian president’s protestations to the contrary.

Trump’s angry bullhorn echoing across the Caribbean shook up the status quo.

…Not exactly. While the Panamanian president was busy having his secretary fire off the public paper face of defiance, he swiftly spun his action arm into an official audit against Hong Kong’s Hutchinson Ports.

…China does not control or administer the canal, but Hong Kong’s Hutchison Ports has managed two ports located near the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances. In the wake of Trump’s speech yesterday, Panamanian authorities said they have initiated an audit of Hutchison Ports.

So a Chinese entity DOES ‘control’ the ports at both ends of the Panama Canal. A Chinese company – and any Chinese company is indistinguishable from the Chinese government – which, in September, was given another 25-year deal by the Panamanian government to run those ports

The concerns over the Canal ports weren’t just bluster, either, particularly with China’s increasingly aggressive posture.

Chinese national security law introduced in 2020 could allow China to exercise influence over Hong Kong-based companies in the event of a conflict.

— Mayte Chummia (@Maytechummia) February 15, 2025

The spotlight on China and its proxies’ growing influence at and control of strategic ports, not just the Canal but worldwide, launched a bi-partisan Senate effort to formulate legislation to counter malign Chinese influence shortly thereafter.

…The Strategic Ports Reporting Act, introduced by Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Rick Scott (R-FL), would require the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive global mapping of ports considered vital to U.S. military, diplomatic, economic, and resource exploration interests.

The legislation specifically targets efforts by the People’s Republic of China to build, buy, or control strategic maritime infrastructure around the world. It mandates a detailed study of PRC activities related to port ownership and requires an assessment of vulnerabilities in U.S.-controlled ports.

…The bill would require the creation of a detailed list of strategic ports controlled by both China and the United States, along with an assessment of vulnerabilities and the national security implications of Chinese control.

Additionally, the legislation calls for a strategy to secure trusted investment and ownership of strategic ports, protect infrastructure from Chinese control, and ensure open access and security for such ports.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s increasing influence over global trade routes and strategic infrastructure poses a direct threat to the United States’ national security and economic stability,” said Senator Scott. “From the Panama Canal to ports across the world, Communist China is working to grow its economic and military presence to threaten and undermine American interests.”

Maybe it was the one-two punch of the Senate moving and Trump’s bellicosity, but my money’s mostly on Trump.

After today, we may not have to launch that amphibious assault against the Panama Canal Zone to take it back for the US…dammit.

Chinese pulling out of Panama Canal because of Trump pressure. pic.twitter.com/Nu7IeKkKTm

— Peter Schweizer (@peterschweizer) March 4, 2025

Life isn’t fair sometimes.

But Trump’s big mouth sure works in mysterious ways, doesn’t it? That’s why, while I invariably cringe at his framing, I always counsel sticking around to see what shakes out.

This time, he shook the Chinese right out of the Canal Zone and in less than two months.

BlackRock strikes deal to bring ports on both sides of Panama Canal under American control

A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the ports under American control after President Donald Trump alleged Chinese interference with the operations of the critical shipping lane.

In a filing, CK Hutchison Holding said Tuesday that it would sell all shares in Hutchison Port Holdings and in Hutchison Port Group Holdings to the consortium in a deal valued at nearly $23 billion, including $5 billion in debt.

The deal will give the BlackRock consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama, as well as others in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Pakistan and elsewhere.

The transaction, which must be approved by Panama’s government, does not include any interest in a trust that operates ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and South China, or any other ports in China.

Some 70% of the sea traffic that crosses the Panama Canal leaves or goes to U.S. ports. The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. Trump has claimed that Carter “foolishly” gave the canal away.

Don’t forget that Panama was part of the itinerary for Marco’s first trip as Secretary of State. He delivered the Canal message along with other warnings about dealing with Beijing that bore fruit and pissed off the Chinese almost immediately.

…U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama in early February and told President José Raúl Mulino that Panama had to reduce Chinese influence over the canal or face potential retaliation from the United States. Mulino rejected the idea that China had any control over canal operations.

Panama quit China’s Belt and Road Initiative following Rubio’s visit, drawing condemnation from Beijing. Belt and Road is Beijing’s global development strategy to build roads, ports and railways to open up new markets.

The Chinese are doing their ‘save face act’ – the sale had nothing to do with Trump, you understand.

Oh, you bet we do.

…Frank Sixt, co-managing director of CK Hutchison, said in a statement that the transaction was “the result of a rapid, discrete but competitive process in which numerous bids and expressions of interest were received.”

“I would like to stress that the transaction is purely commercial in nature and wholly unrelated to recent political news reports concerning the Panama Ports,” Sixt said.

You bet we do. Read you loud and clear.

CK Hutchison to Sell Panama Port Assets at Center of Geopolitical Storm https://t.co/oZeqJiIrZk

— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴‍☠️ (@mercoglianos) March 4, 2025

Some ports are better than others in ‘geopolitical’ storms.

Score another win for Team Trump.