Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Wednesday that the recent comments by Panama's media have sharply exposed the true nature of U.S. hegemony, pointing to its ambitions to control the Panama Canal.
Guo commented at a press conference when a reporter brought up Panama's media criticism of the U.S. interference and hegemonic actions in Central America, hyping a fabricated "China threat" in the country to control the Canal. The Panamanian media also slammed the U.S. plan to build a long-term military presence, which could further hurt Panama's interests.
"The comments made by Panama's media have accurately exposed the essence of U.S. hegemonic behavior. The U.S. has fabricated the lie of 'China controlling the Panama Canal' and maliciously attacked China, which is merely an excuse to justify its control over the Canal and push forward its expansionist and 'Monroe Doctrine'-style hegemonic agenda. The international community and the people of Panama see this very clearly. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino also rejected the false claim of Chinese interference because this is not based on facts," Guo said.
"No lie can conceal the United States' ambitions to control the Panama Canal. We again urge the U.S. to stop manipulating China-related issues, cease its attacks and smear campaigns against China, and halt its interference with normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Latin American countries, including Panama. The U.S. should focus on actions that truly benefit regional and global development and prosperity," said the spokesman.
No lie can conceal US ambition over Panama Canal: spokesman
The 19th Europe-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair concluded on Friday in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China, attracting over 600 enterprises and institutions from more than 20 countries and generating more than 160 preliminary cooperation intentions.
Co-hosted by the China Chamber of International Commerce and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, the fair serves as a premier platform for targeted business matchmaking between European and Chinese businesses. It aims to foster meaningful, sustainable cooperation across sectors.
During the three-day event, enterprises from China, Spain, Portugal, and other countries held nearly 400 one-on-one business matchmaking sessions across sectors such as new energy, biomedicine, agriculture and food, and artificial intelligence.
Speaking at the fair, Liu Jiannan, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, emphasized the need to explore innovative cooperation models between the two sides.
"We are ready to help enterprises from both sides fully utilize platforms like the Europe-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair to strengthen sci-tech exchanges, deepen innovative cooperation in areas such as AI, clean energy, and digital economy, and explore new models for cooperation in third-party markets," said Liu.
Business leaders at the event stressed the evolving and deeply integrated nature of Sino-European business ties.
Luigi Gambardella, president of the ChinaEU Digital Association, urged young entrepreneurs to become more involved to deepen mutual understanding.
"I hope that young people, young entrepreneurs, and young startups will start to consider co-creation. I think such kind of cooperation would be much more profound. That's because it will allow entrepreneurs [and] employees to enrich with a different culture, understanding each other," said Gambardella.
Adam Dunnett, secretary general of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, underscored the Chinese market's critical importance to Europe, calling for deeper two-way investment and trade.
"China is an important market for us. It's really, really important as a source for our supply chain. [It] really doesn't matter if [European] companies are investing in China or if Chinese companies are investing in Europe, or they're finding ways to trade with each other or to make use of each other's supply chains," said Dunnett.
Since its inception, the event has attracted over 14,000 Chinese and European enterprises. To date, it has successfully facilitated nearly 30,000 business matchmaking sessions, resulting in more than 3,000 cooperation intentions and agreements.
Europe-China fair wraps up in Chengdu with over 160 preliminary deals
