China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing was ready to deepen practical co-operation with Panama and urged the Central American country to safeguard Chinese firms' rights during a meeting with Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha, China's official news agency Xinhua reported.
Wang, who met Acha on the sidelines of a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York, said China-Panama ties should not be subject to third-party interference, Xinhua reported, a reference to US pressure over Chinese-linked infrastructure near the Panama Canal, which handles five per cent of global maritime trade.
The meeting comes after months of tension over the future of two key container terminals at Balboa and Cristobal, located near the Pacific and Atlantic entrances to the canal but operated separately from the waterway itself.
In late January, Panama's Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the legal framework underpinning a 1997 concession — and a 2021 extension — that allowed Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed CK Hutchison, to operate the terminals.
China and Hong Kong authorities have said they oppose the ruling against CK Hutchison's port concessions, calling it an "act of bad faith."
The cancellation followed US pressure to curb Chinese influence around the canal.
CK Hutchison, which operated the ports for nearly 30 years, has accused Panamanian authorities of unlawfully seizing property and launched an international arbitration case against the country, claiming damages of more than $2 billion.
(Reporting by the Beijing newsroom; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Kate Mayberry)
