Mapping China’s influence around the Panama Canal
President Donald Trump has made repeated claims that China “operates” the Panama Canal in recent weeks and has threatened to take back the waterway to block what he sees as Beijing’s increasing influence.
A BBC Verify analysis shows that the US remains the main user of the canal, but Chinese involvement in infrastructure projects around the waterway - which is operated directly by Panama - has grown in recent years.
Up to 14,000 ships use the 51-mile (82km) passage each year. It links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans across the Central American country, avoiding an otherwise lengthy and costly trip around South America.
The waterway cuts the amount of time it takes goods to flow from Shenzhen in China to the US east coast, or between San Francisco and New York, by weeks.
After Panama signed up to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2017 - where Beijing invests in infrastructure across the globe - Chinese companies were more active around the canal. Panama left the partnership earlier this month amid US pressure.
However, much of Trump’s ire has been focused on Chinese control over ports which predate the BRI.
Map of the Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean through Panama The ports of Colon, Manzanillo and Cristóbal at the Atlantic end are highlighted along with Rodman and Baboa at the Pacific end. Panama City is visible on the Pacific coast to the right of the canal, image
There are five container ports around the Panama Canal. All of them are operated by foreign companies.
The highlights change to show the three ports of Colon and Manzanillo near the Atlantic and Rodman near the Pacific, image
Three of the canal’s main container ports - Colon, Rodman and Manzanillo - are operated by companies based in Singapore, Taiwan and the US.
The map highlights Cristóbal at the Atlantic Ocean end and Balboa at the Pacific Ocean end, image
But much of the US attention has focused on the two biggest, Cristóbal and Balboa.
The map highlights Cristóbal at the Atlantic Ocean end and Balboa at the Pacific Ocean end, image
They sit at either end of the canal and have been operated by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings since 1997.
Map of the Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean through Panama The ports of Colon, Manzanillo and Cristóbal at the Atlantic end are highlighted along with Rodman and Baboa at the Pacific end. Panama City is visible on the Pacific coast to the right of the canal, image
There are five container ports around the Panama Canal. All of them are operated by foreign companies.
The highlights change to show the three ports of Colon and Manzanillo near the Atlantic and Rodman near the Pacific, image
Three of the canal’s main container ports - Colon, Rodman and Manzanillo - are operated by companies based in Singapore, Taiwan and the US.
The map highlights Cristóbal at the Atlantic Ocean end and Balboa at the Pacific Ocean end, image
But much of the US attention has focused on the two biggest, Cristóbal and Balboa.
The map highlights Cristóbal at the Atlantic Ocean end and Balboa at the Pacific Ocean end, image
They sit at either end of the canal and have been operated by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings since 1997.
While the company is a private corporation based outside the Chinese mainland, experts have told the BBC that the Chinese national security law introduced in 2020 could allow China to exercise influence over Hong Kong-based companies in the event of a conflict.
“In terms of the day-to-day, I’m sceptical as to whether there’s a direct line between Beijing and CK Hutchison, but in a time of a crisis or a conflict it would be relatively trivial for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to say we’re going to use the ports,” Henry Ziemer, an Americas specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told the BBC.
This view was echoed by the former commander of the US military’s southern command, Gen Laura J Richardson. She told lawmakers in 2023 that “in any potential global conflict, the PRC [China] could leverage strategic regional ports to restrict US naval and commercial ship access”.
The chairman of CK Hutchison - Victor Li Tzar-kuoi - serves as a member of the national committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), according to his company website.
The CPPCC is China's top political advisory body comprising of thousands of members and is part of the “United Front System” which works to aid government influence domestically and abroad. Its members usually include top corporate figures. BBC Verify approached CK Hutchison Holdings for comment.
While Trump’s attention has focused on Balboa and Cristóbal, Chinese companies have been involved in projects elsewhere around the canal - with one major bridge project attracting some attention.
Three bridges currently cross the canal at various points.
Satellite image of the Bridge of the Americas in March 2024, image
Slightly north of the Bridge of the Americas, a Chinese corporation is building the new Fourth Bridge, connecting Panama City to West Panama. This is the site in March 2024.
Satellite image of the Bridge of the Americas in March 2024, image
The deal - which the Reuters news agency reported was worth about $1.42bn - has been beset by delays.
Satellite image of the Bridge of the Americas in January 2025, where progress can be shown on a new bridge being constructed over mud flats, image
But satellite images over the past year show development of the bridge has picked up, as seen here in January 2025.
Satellite image of the Bridge of the Americas in March 2024, image
Slightly north of the Bridge of the Americas, a Chinese corporation is building the new Fourth Bridge, connecting Panama City to West Panama. This is the site in March 2024.
Satellite image of the Bridge of the Americas in March 2024, image
The deal - which the Reuters news agency reported was worth about $1.42bn - has been beset by delays.
Satellite image of the Bridge of the Americas in January 2025, where progress can be shown on a new bridge being constructed over mud flats, image
But satellite images over the past year show development of the bridge has picked up, as seen here in January 2025.
US officials have raised concerns over the involvement of Chinese firms in the project. Republican Senator Ted Cruz recently said that the “partially-completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning”, but did not elaborate as to how he thought the bridge could be used as an obstacle.
A map of the Panama Canal highlights the Amador Cruise Terminal off the Pacific Ocean, image
Other major projects include the Amador Cruise Terminal built by the China Harbour Engineering Company on the Pacific side of the canal.
A map of the Panama Canal shows a dotted line of the extension of the Panama City Metro, just off the coast of the Pacific Ocean, image
And an extension to the Panama City Metro which will run under the south end of the canal is being built by the China Railway Tunnel Group Company.
A map of the Panama Canal highlights the Amador Cruise Terminal off the Pacific Ocean, image
Other major projects include the Amador Cruise Terminal built by the China Harbour Engineering Company on the Pacific side of the canal.
A map of the Panama Canal shows a dotted line of the extension of the Panama City Metro, just off the coast of the Pacific Ocean, image
And an extension to the Panama City Metro which will run under the south end of the canal is being built by the China Railway Tunnel Group Company.
But while these projects represent some Chinese interests around the canal, Panamanian authorities have shelved several other high profile Chinese-led projects.
Eddie Tapiero, a Panama-based economist, said he believed that around 50% of projects initiated after Panama joined the BRI have been discontinued or suspended.
A map of the Panama Canal highlights Isla Margarita just off the Atlantic Ocean, image
In 2022, a major project intended to develop a new port on Isla Margarita on the Caribbean side of the canal was cancelled.
A map of the Panama Canal highlights A rail line between Panama City and David, of 243 miles or 391km, image
A proposed high-speed rail line across the country from Panama City to David in the west of the country was also shelved after a new government came to power in Panama.
The map highlights where the Chinese embassy would have gone, just off the Pacific Ocean, image
And a plan to build a new Chinese embassy on the Amador Causeway Islands - which sit at the gates of the canal - was cancelled in 2018.
A map of the Panama Canal highlights Isla Margarita just off the Atlantic Ocean, image
In 2022, a major project intended to develop a new port on Isla Margarita on the Caribbean side of the canal was cancelled.
A map of the Panama Canal highlights A rail line between Panama City and David, of 243 miles or 391km, image
A proposed high-speed rail line across the country from Panama City to David in the west of the country was also shelved after a new government came to power in Panama.
The map highlights where the Chinese embassy would have gone, just off the Pacific Ocean, image
And a plan to build a new Chinese embassy on the Amador Causeway Islands - which sit at the gates of the canal - was cancelled in 2018.
Experts who spoke to the BBC have suggested that China’s influence over infrastructure had mainly expanded to fill a gap left by the US in the region.
Mr Tapiero told BBC Verify that US companies were frequently uninterested or uncompetitive in bidding processes compared to Chinese competitors - who he said were often willing to offer finance when seeking deals.
Statistics for foreign direct investment (FDI) - the amount of money countries are investing in another country - paint a similar picture.
China invested $1.4bn in Panama in 2023 - a fourfold increase since the start of the BRI in 2017 - while US investments, although far higher overall, have declined over that same period.
Annual investment in Panama
From October 2023 to September 2024, shipping to or from China accounted for 21% of the cargo going through the waterway according to figures from the Panama Canal management company.
However, the US remains the biggest investor in Panama and the top user of the canal by some distance.
Last year, three and half times as much cargo passed through the canal going to and from the US than China.
Cargo via the Panama Canal, top 15 countries, Oct 2023 to Sep 2024
Beijing’s influence in Panama may well be on the decline, says Henry Ziemer of the CSIS.
The Panamanian authorities have “had a taste of what infrastructure partnership with China looks like, and they are not too pleased with that. It hasn’t delivered the big flashy gains that were promised when they first signed onto the BRI.”
“That is why - along with pressure from Washington - the sense is now that Panama is seeking to move away from China.”
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