Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the Panamanian government's decision to cut back its ties with the Chinese Communist Party following a trip to visit the Panama Canal.
Rubio toured the transcontinental passage on Monday during a multistop journey in South America, celebrating Panama's withdrawal from China's Belt and Road Initiative.
"Yesterday's announcement by President [José Raúl Mulino] that Panama will allow its participation in the CCP's Belt and Road Initiative to expire is a great step forward for US-Panama relations, a free Panama Canal, and another example of [Trump's] leadership to protect our national security and deliver prosperity for the American people," Rubio wrote on social media on Monday.
Mulino announced Sunday that he is ordering his government to allow Panama's agreement with China to expire, effectively ending their current arrangement.
It's a major victory for President Donald Trump, who entered the White House last month with the expressed goal of curbing Chinese influence in the operations of the canal.
The Panamanian leader told the media that despite the White House's early warnings that it was considering the forced reclamation of the Panama Canal, Rubio conveyed "no real threat of retaking the canal or the use of force," according to the Latin Times.
The State Department recently warned the Panamanian president that a "preliminary determination" suggested "the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal."
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Fu Cong lamented the development as a "regrettable decision," claiming that the "smear campaign … launched by the U.S. and some of the other Western countries on the Belt and Road Initiative is totally groundless."
The CCP has been outspoken in its anger surrounding the Trump administration's harsh tariffs on their economy. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce vowed Sunday to sue the U.S. through the World Trade Organization over its "wrong practices."
"China’s position is firm and consistent. Trade and tariff wars have no winners," the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Sunday statement. "The U.S.’s unilateral tariff hikes severely violate WTO rules. This move cannot solve the U.S.'s problems at home and more importantly, does not benefit either side, still less the world."
The statement continued, "China calls on the U.S. to correct its wrongdoings, maintain the hard-won positive dynamics in the counternarcotics cooperation, and promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relationship."
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Chinese imports will be subject to the 10% tariffs set to go into effect on Tuesday.
The new policy is expected to have wide-ranging impacts on the U.S. economy, particularly in key markets such as drugs, computer chips, and textiles.