Alleged Violations Under Article IV: China and Panama
Trump’s talk also surfaces deeper geopolitical anxieties: the growing influence of China in Latin America. Chinese-based enterprises, including CK Hutchison Holdings (formerly Hutchison Whampoa Limited), have secured significant port concessions at both ends of the canal. Meanwhile, new Chinese-backed infrastructure projects continue to pop up across Panama.
From extensive port operations in Balboa and Cristobal to large-scale investments in bridges spanning the waterway, China’s footprint has never been larger. Detractors argue that Panama risks bending the neutrality clause by allowing a foreign power de facto control over these critical chokepoints. If China wields outsize leverage on canal operations—especially if its political and economic interests could overshadow universal access—the spirit and the letter of the Neutrality Treaty may indeed be threatened.
In my view, “If the Panamanian government, swayed by Chinese investments, undermines the equality of transit or toll rates, then we have a tangible case for a breach of Article IV obligations.” – Samuel A. Lopez
