China's role in Trump's Panama Canal gambit: 5 things to know

Rubio demands 'immediate changes' to waterway where Hong Kong titan runs ports

The port of Cristobal in Colon, Panama. The Panama Ports Company, a unit of Hutchison Port Holdings -- part of Hong Kong's CK Hutchison conglomerate -- operates ports at both ends of the waterway: at Balboa on the Pacific and Cristobal on the Atlantic. © Reuters

KENJI KAWASE and STELLA YIFAN XIE

February 3, 2025 18:53 JST

Updated on February 3, 2025 19:10 JST

HONG KONG -- Marco Rubio's visit to Panama this weekend on his first foreign trip as U.S. secretary of state has brightened the spotlight on the strategic waterway that cuts across the Central American nation: the Panama Canal.

The Donald Trump administration is determined to eliminate alleged Chinese influence over the passage, which stems from Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison's interests in the ports on both the Pacific and Atlantic sides.