The verdict is in: China has been denied an important foothold in the Western Hemisphere. A recent ruling by Panamanian courts provides the Trump administration with another victory in its efforts to oust the Middle Kingdom from America’s backyard.
On Jan. 30, the Panamanian courts ruled that a concession to Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, was unconstitutional. Panama and PPC first signed the two contracts to operate the ports at Balboa and Cristobal at each end of the canal in 1997.
In 2021, they were renewed, seemingly with little fanfare or forethought. This was a mistake. Much has changed since 1997, both for the world and America’s place in it.
In 1997, the United States stood alone as the sole superpower. China, while rising, remained poor. Many experts, both inside and outside of the government, believed that China’s economic liberalization would lead to a more tolerant, pro-Western Beijing. Instead, the opposite has happened. As Chinese power has grown, so have its aggressive appetites and threatening abilities.
China aims to become the world’s sole superpower, supplanting the U.S. The Chinese Communist Party has been waging an undeclared economic war against our nation. The U.S. has deindustrialized while China has sought to become the “factory of the world.” Beijing’s rulers have steadfastly worked to ensure that much of the world, including America, is economically dependent on them.
Vladimir Lenin famously said that “the capitalists will sell us the rope on which we will hang them.” When it comes to China, many in the West have done just that. For too long and too often America and its allies have provided Beijing with undue advantages, often failing to push back as the communist tyranny achieved strategic goals.
China has built spy bases in Cuba, less than 100 miles from the U.S. It has also developed alliances with Havana and Caracas. China has interfered in the elections of Canada, our northern neighbor, and supplied narcoterrorists to our south with the means to poison U.S. communities.
To gain additional leverage, China has sought control of American trade and energy routes. An estimated 40% of container traffic goes through the Panama Canal.
Beijing has received precious little pushback, until now.
The Trump administration’s recently released National Defense Strategy has rightly prioritized homeland security. Some have called this isolationist. It’s not. It’s common sense.
The Biden administration’s NDS had the same priority, but its words were empty. This White House is carrying out its pledge, working to remove Chinese influence from the Western Hemisphere. This was central to ousting Beijing’s ally Nicolas Maduro from leadership in Venezuela, and to discussions with allies from Ottawa to Mexico City. With the latest ruling from Panama, the Trump administration has won another trick.
Unsurprisingly, China has decried the Panamanian court’s decision. Others have pointed out that CK Hutchison Holdings isn’t a state-run company. But this overlooks how communist China does business. Indeed, CK Hutchison Holdings has been part of Beijing’s “Belt and Road” Initiative, helping the CCP amass its territorial and commercial holdings. China cannot have it both ways; it cannot turn all Chinese business interests toward government purposes and then complain when those businesses are seen as arms of the government. If it wants Chinese companies to be treated like the businesses of other countries, then it should abandon its totalitarian control of Chinese businesses.
THE BLUE STATE MODEL IS FAILING
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was “encouraged” by the court’s decision. So are we.
America’s fortunes rose with the canal. Early American statesmen such as Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams championed the canal project. President Teddy Roosevelt and countless workmen made those dreams a reality. At its completion, the canal was labeled “the eighth wonder of the world,” heralding the rise of the American Century. In the 1970s, the hapless President Jimmy Carter gave it to Panama. Letting it fall into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party and its associated entities was, and is, unacceptable.
