巴拿馬運河真的如特朗普所說由中國「運營」嗎？ （2/2）

 Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

Does China 'operate' Panama Canal, as Trump says? (2/2)

Shawn Yuan 22.1.25

Global China Unit, BBC World Service

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What is China's role in the operations of the canal?

There is no public evidence to suggest that the Chinese government exercises control over the canal, or its military. However, Chinese companies have a significant presence there.

From October 2023 to September 2024, China accounted for 21.4% of the cargo volume transiting the Panama Canal, making it the second-largest user after the US.

In recent years, China has also invested heavily in ports and terminals near the canal.

Two of the five ports adjacent to the canal, Balboa and Cristóbal, which sit on the Pacific and Atlantic sides respectively, have been operated by a subsidiary of Hutchison Port Holdings since 1997.

The company is a subsidiary of the publicly listed CK Hutchison Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate founded by Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing.

It has port operations in 24 countries, including the UK.

Although it is not state-owned by China, says Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, there have been concerns in Washington over how much control Beijing would be able to exert over the company.

A wealth of potentially useful strategic information on ships passing through the waterway flows through these ports.

"There is an increasing geopolitical tension of economic nature between the US and China," Mr Berg says. "That kind of information regarding cargo would be very useful in the event of a supply chain war."

CK Hutchison did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

The bids to operate those ports faced almost no competition, according to Andrew Thomas, a professor at the University of Akron who has written a book on the canal. "The US at the time didn't really care about these ports and Hutchison faced no objection," he says.

Chinese companies, both private and state-owned, have also strengthened their presence in Panama through billions of dollars in investments, including a cruise terminal and a bridge to be built over the canal.

This "package of Chinese activities", as described by Mr Thomas, might have prompted Trump's assertion that the canal is "owned" by China, but operation of those ports does not equate to ownership, he stresses.

Beijing has repeatedly said that China's ties with Latin America are characterised by "equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness and benefits for the people".

What are China's broader interests in Panama?

Panama's strategic location means China has been vying to increase its influence in the country for years and expand its footprint on a continent that has traditionally been considered the "backyard" of the US.

In 2017, Panama broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established formal relations with China – a huge win for Chinese diplomacy.

Months later, Panama became the first Latin American country to join China's signature Belt and Road Initiative, a trillion-dollar global infrastructure and investment initiative.

The Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras followed suit and also severed ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing.

China has slowly expanded its soft power by opening its first Confucius Institute in the country and providing a grant to build a railway. Chinese companies have also sponsored "media training" for Panamanian journalists.

Translation

巴拿馬運河真的如特朗普所說由中國「運營」嗎？ （2/2）

（繼續）

中國在運河運作中扮演什麼角色？

沒有公開證據顯示中國政府或軍隊對該運河實施控制。然而，中國公司在那裡佔有重要地位。

2023年10月至2024年9月，中國佔巴拿馬運河貨運量的21.4%，成為僅次於美國的第二大用戶。

近年來，中國也對運河附近的港口和碼頭進行了巨額投資。

在毗鄰運河的五個港口中的两個，即巴爾博亞港 (Port of Balboa),和克里斯托巴爾港 (Port of Cristóbal),分別位於太平洋和大西洋兩岸，自 1997 年以來一直由和記港口集團旗下的一家子公司運營。

該公司是上市公司長江和記實業的子公司，長江和記實業是一家由香港商人李嘉誠創立的香港企業集團。

該公司在包括英國在內的24個國家開展港口業務。

戰略與國際研究中心美洲計劃主任 Ryan Berg 表示，儘管該公司不是中國國有企業，但華盛頓一直擔心北京方面能夠對該公司施加控制的程度。

透過這些港口，可以獲得大量有關途經該水道的船隻的潛在有用的戰略資訊。

Berg表示： “美國和中國之間的經濟地緣政治緊張局勢正在加劇”; “一旦發生供應鏈戰爭，這種有關貨物的信息將非常有用。”

長江和記尚未回應 BBC 的置評請求。

阿克倫大學教授 Andrew Thomas 曾撰寫過一本有關運河的書，他表示，這些港口的營運競標幾乎沒有面對任何競爭。他說： “當時美國其實並不關心這些港口，而和記黃埔也沒有遇到任何反對。”

中國私營和國有企業也透過數十億美元的投資加強了在巴拿馬的業務，其中包括建造一個郵輪碼頭和一座橫跨運河的橋樑。

Thomas 所描述的「一系列中國活動」可能促使特朗普聲稱運河「歸」中國所有，但他強調，營運這些港口並不等於擁有所有權。

北京曾多次表示，中國與拉美的關係具有「平等、互利、創新、開放、惠及人民」的特徵。

中國在巴拿馬擁有哪些更廣泛的利益？

巴拿馬的戰略位置意味著中國多年來一直在爭取增強在該國的影響力，並擴大其在傳統上被視為美國「後院」的美洲大陸的空間。

2017年，巴拿馬與台灣斷絕外交關係，與中國建立正式關係，這是中國外交的重大勝利。

數月後，巴拿馬成為第一個加入中國「一帶一路」倡議的拉丁美洲國家,是一項價值萬億美元的全球基礎設施和投資計劃。

多明尼加共和國、薩爾瓦多、尼加拉瓜和洪都拉斯也紛紛效仿，與台北斷絕關係，轉而支持北京。

中國透過在該國開設第一所孔子學院和提供援助修建鐵路，慢慢擴大了其軟實力。中國公司也為巴拿馬記者舉辦「媒體培訓」。

 

       So, Washington has expressed its concerns over how much control Beijing would be able to exert over the company that is operating the canal. Everyday potentially useful strategic information on ships passing through the waterway is generated. As there is an increasing geopolitical tension of economic nature between the US and China, this cargo information could be very useful in the event of a supply chain war. At the moment, Chinese companies, both private and state-owned (including HK companies), have strengthened their presence in Panama through billions of dollars investments in canal related constructions. Apparently, the US’s worry is understandable.